A Matter of Propriety
by drakorene
Summary: Isabella Swann is in love with Will Turner, but he only seems to see Elizabeth. When Elizabeth is kidnapped, Isabella accidentally ends up on the adventure to save her. COTBP. A shot at the Elizabeth's sister scenario.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Alright, so this is the first _Pirates_ fanfic I've ever written, so let me know how it is._

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates of the Caribbean.

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**Chapter**** One**

**An Old Confession and a Strange Conversation**

* * *

"I love you, Will," I once told him with all the conviction that my twelve-year-old self could muster. I was sitting on the steps inside the blacksmith's shop while Will pounded away at a sword.

He, of course, didn't stop working and at first I wasn't sure he even heard me. But then he absently responded, "I know, Isabella. I love you, too." He meant it honestly – Will always means what he says – but not in the same way I did. Of course Will Turner loved me; we were best friends and had been for the last two years. Will had always cared for me, but only as a brother cares for his sister.

Now I'm quite sure that Will has completely forgotten my confession. Our friendship is not nearly as strong as it was then. Back when Will was fourteen and I was twelve it was okay for us to be friends. Then Will turned sixteen and he was suddenly conscious of propriety. He never let me stay at the shop for long when I visited, always finding some excuse to make me leave. He only came to the mansion where I lived on errands for Mr Brown the blacksmith. Around the same time, my father decided it was time for me to begin my long overdue studies. I hardly had any time to myself and each passing moment the strict rules of Port Royal society were being pushed upon me.

It was part of growing up, I suppose. We either had to conform or be ruined. I understood even then that I had a greater duty to my father than to Will. As Governor of Port Royal, my father expects my sister Elizabeth and me to act as proper ladies. Though I have long outgrown my tutors, I am constantly watched by my father and older sister even in the privacy of our own home. Visiting Will has become unacceptable as I am now a full-fledged young lady of Port Royal at eighteen, ready for marriage to some naval officer, most likely of my father's choosing.

First, of course, Elizabeth must marry, being the older sister by two years. It would hardly be proper for the younger sister to marry first. Although I am perfectly content to wait as long as possible, my father does insist upon Elizabeth's marrying soon so he can begin searching for an appropriate husband for me. He has already chosen Captain James Norrington to be Elizabeth's husband. I do believe my father enjoys choosing men for his daughters. Of course, he is not the type of father to force his children to marry against their will, particularly because he has only Elizabeth and me, our mother having died years before we even came to the Caribbean. He will have a hard time finding a man I will agree to marry. Im not as complacent as Elizabeth, although she does highly admire and respect James Norrington, and, for some reason I don't quite understand, she likes him greatly. I personally find him a bit stiff and proper even if he is a naval officer and local hero. I could never settle for someone so uptight and boring. But then again, that's what I get for falling in love with Will Turner when I was ten.

* * *

It is my maid Kate who wakes me from my thoughts.

"You're up early, miss," she remarks as she carries in fresh water for me to wash my face with. I am sitting in the chaise by my window, which overlooks the town and, beyond it, the Caribbean Sea. I woke up early this morning with a sense of change. I had the feeling that something would happen today, something much more than Captain Norrington's promotion ceremony.

I get up from my seat, still in my nightgown, and go to the basin where Kate has just poured the water. I splash some of the cold water on my face and wipe my face with a cloth next to the basin.

"Your father asked me to tell him when you're awake. He has a new dress for you to wear to the ceremony. May I get him, miss?" Kate asks me.

"Yes, of course," I say. Kate leaves the room quickly and silently. I walk to my wardrobe and pull out my robe. My father would consider it indecent for me to be in only my nightgown, even if Im in my own room. I have the sudden urge to roll my eyes, but it's not ladylike and with my luck, my father would walk in and see it.

Indeed, my father knocks on the door right now. "Isabella, may I enter?"

"Yes, come in," I answer. Perfectly put together and ready to go already, Governor Weatherby Swann walks into my room, immediately looking at my attire to make sure I'm decent. I love my father, but sometimes his strict sense of propriety baffles me.

Being the doting father that he is, he says, "I have a present for you, Isabella." He motions behind him to the maids, Kate and Maria. Kate enters carrying a large box which can only contain the dress Kate spoke of. I open it, and it is indeed a new dress. The color is pale pink, with leaves and flowers embroidered onto the bodice.

"Oh, thank you, Father!" I exclaim. I have always liked getting new dresses. In that respect, I'm just like the other young ladies of the town.

"Well, put it on. I want to see how you look," my father says, smiling.

I grin in his direction and move behind the dressing screen. Kate and Maria follow, carrying my dress, underthings, and corset. I'm still grinning as I slip out of my robe and nightgown, and pull on my shift. My grin fades, however, as Kate and Maria begin to pull on the corset strings. Though I have had to wear a corset many times before, it still hurts every time. Once the corset is on, Kate pulls my dress over my head and ties the laces in the back. I step out from behind the screen.

Father smiles at me. "You look beautiful, Isabella. Just like a proper young lady. My, you have grown up fast."

"Father," I say, half-amused, half-warningly.

"Sorry," he says apologetically. He knows I hate it when he mentions me growing up. I've been grown up for at least a year now. I've been of marriageable age for two years already. "Well," he says, "shall we wake up Elizabeth? It's getting quite late in the day and she still needs to get ready for Captain Norrington's promotion ceremony."

"You go, Father. I would like to get some breakfast."

"Yes, of course. Go ahead."

With that, Father motions for Maria to help dress Elizabeth. I stay in my room long enough for Kate to put my hair up into a fashionable knot. Then, as I go downstairs to the kitchen to get a bite to eat, Kate grabs my hat, fan, and shoes and runs after me.

In the kitchen, I wait as our cook, Mrs Farber, finds some bread for me. I can't eat much while wearing this corset. Kate kneels before me and grabs my foot. She slides my shoe on and then grabs the other foot to put on the other. I am perfectly able to put on my shoes under normal circumstances, but I've discovered that while wearing a corset, it's better to let the maid do it. If I try to put on my shoes myself, I usually end up looking like a monkey, as I am unable to bend my back.

I eat my small portion of bread and drink my water. Then Kate helps me put on my hat and tie it properly. She hands me my fan, curtsies, and excuses herself to attend to her other duties. I nod absently to her as I rise and leave the kitchen.

I stop in front of the gilded mirror in the foyer. I observe myself for a moment. I am always amazed at how much I resemble Elizabeth, though I'm not as classically beautiful. Oh, I'm pretty enough, but I'm certainly not the great beauty that my older sister is. We're both of fair coloring, but where Elizabeth has blonde hair and ivory skin, I have more red-tinted hair and my skin is a bit darker from the Caribbean sun. My face is dotted with freckles across the bridge of my button nose. My blue eyes are in high contrast to Elizabeth's brown eyes. We both were fortunate (and unfortunate in some ways) to inherit our mother's slight build. While we lack real hips, we have the skinny waist that makes wearing a corset slightly less painful.

I study the dress Father gave me. The pale pink sleeves reach my elbows, and the rounded neckline shows off what little cleavage I have. I pull on the neckline a bit to lower it.

I hear a loud cough. I spin around and find Will Turner looking at me with eyebrows raised. I blush, furious with myself that I did this out in the foyer. I'm lucky that only Will saw me. Or maybe I'm not so lucky. After all, it is Will's good opinion that matter the most to me, and he would certainly think it indecent to pull down my neckline in the open.

I face the mirror again and pull it back up. I turn to Will again, this time with a ready smile.

"It's good to see you again, Will."

"And you, Miss Swann," he responds formally. He lifts a long case from where it was by his side, saying, "I've come to deliver Captain Norrington's new sword."

"Ah," I say awkwardly. Then, although I know I shouldn't even bring it up (a lady never would), I add, "I'm sorry about that, just now. I thought I was alone. I didn't hear anyone come in."

Will nods to accept my apology, and we stand there in silence. I keep my eyes on Will, even though his own eyes roam around the room. I can tell he's trying to think of something to say. We actually haven't spoken properly for a good two years, when I finally realized that, no matter how many times I visited the blacksmith shop, Will did not and would not want me there. It took me a long time to figure out because Will was always so polite when shooing me out after only ten minutes. Elizabeth, of course, was happy when we didn't have to stop by the shop anymore on our shopping trips in town. Not that she came in. No, she waited outside, not wanting to step through the doorway. She was always in sight, though, watching us to make sure we did nothing improper. Now I feel awkward here with my former best friend.

"Will, I –" I break off because I don't actually know what to say. I just have to fill the silence.

Luckily, my father chooses this moment to walk down the stairs. "Ah, Mr Turner, good to see you again."

Will immediately turns around to face my father with a smile. "Good day, sir. I have your order." All propriety and business, Will sets the sword case on the table and opens it, taking out the sword.

Father takes it out of its sheath while Will talks about the sword. "The blade is folded steel. That's gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may." He takes the sword and balances it on his fingers. "Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade." He does a complicated flip of the sword in the air that has me stepping back, but he catches it gracefully and presents it to the Governor.

"Impressive," says my father. "Very impressive. Ah, now, Commodore Norrington is going to be very pleased with this. Do pass my compliments on to your master."

I almost cry out in protest. How can my father not see that Will made the sword? Even if I didn't already know that Will has been making all the swords since he was sixteen, I would have seen it in the pride in his voice and expression as he spoke of the sword.

But Will handles it well. His smile falls only a little, and he says gracefully, "I shall. A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated."

A door opens and closes upstairs, and soon Elizabeth steps into view, looking, as usual, incredibly beautiful.

"Oh, Elizabeth, you look absolutely stunning." My father is obviously very pleased. I think he's hoping that Norrington will propose today.

Elizabeth ignores Father completely, which I admit is very rare. She instead goes straight to Will and exclaims, "Will! It's so good to see you. I had a dream about you last night."

"About me?" Will looks stunned, both by Elizabeth's ethereal beauty and by her odd behavior. I find that Im annoyed that he is so attracted to her. Well, it's hardly surprising; most men are. But I really hoped that Will would be one of those rare men who weren't. Obviously, this is not the case.

My father, being who he is, must cut in and discuss the propriety of the situation. "Yes, well, is that entirely proper for you to –"

Elizabeth interrupts (another strange occurrence). "About the day we met, do you remember?" She looks my way briefly, but then her eyes are back on Will. What is she doing?

"How could I forget, Miss Swann?" Oh yes, Will is most definitely attracted to Elizabeth. I always expected it to happen one day, but I'm surprised at how hurt I feel.

Elizabeth shoots a glance my way again. How odd. "Will, how many times must I ask you to call me Elizabeth?"

Will answers quickly, "At least once more, Miss Swann, as always."

Father ends their conversation there. "There. See? At least the boy has a sense of propriety. Now, we really must be going." He hands parasols to Elizabeth and to me, and he turns to leave.

Elizabeth looks put out, and she says, annoyed, "Good day, Mr Turner." She follows Father to the carriage immediately, but I linger for a moment.

"Goodbye, Will. Don't be such a stranger to us." I smile at him, but he only nods absently as he stares after Elizabeth. I walk to the carriage and, as I'm getting in, I hear Will say, "Good day. Elizabeth." I know from my father's expression that I'm the only one who heard. In the carriage, I glare at Elizabeth. She shrugs her shoulders and grins at me. As soon as we're out of earshot of Father, Elizabeth Swann will be receiving a very thorough interrogation.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Thank you to my reviewer! I'll be updating about once a week because I have the first seven chapters completed. The entire story will be around eleven or twelve chapters long. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates of the Caribbean_. I wish I did..._

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**Chapter Two**

**An Odd Pirate and a Warm Collision**

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Unfortunately, I don't get the chance to release the Spanish Inquisition on Elizabeth because a bunch of our "friends" circle around us as soon as we step out of the carriage. I would gladly drag my sister away to talk to her alone, but Elizabeth insists on being proper and polite by engaging in conversation with the other young ladies of Port Royal high society. Curse Elizabeth and her kindness!

Elizabeth and I are still surrounded when the ceremony starts, and then Elizabeth won't even look my way. Her focus is solely on the new Commodore James Norrington. I notice Elizabeth fanning herself quickly. She grimaces and I can see that her corset is far too tight for comfort or for breathing easily.

I clap politely with everyone else at the end of the (incredibly long) ceremony, and then I take Elizabeth's arm and pull her to the battlements.

"Are you alright, Elizabeth?" I ask, my concern for her overriding my curiosity about her behavior.

"Yes, I'm fine, Isa –" she gasps.

"So you're fine, are you?"

Elizabeth grins at me. "My corset is so tight."

"Why did Estrella tie it so tightly?" I ask, supporting her on my arm.

"It has to be this tight for my dress to fit."

"May I have a moment?"

It is the new Commodore. I know he doesn't mean me. I glance at Elizabeth, who is smiling at Norrington. She nods to him, and I slip away. She doesn't even notice, but Norrington sends a grateful smile in my direction. He takes Elizabeth to the very edge of the battlements, while I stay close enough to be able to see but hear them.

Norrington starts speaking to Elizabeth and she smiles back at him. But she's supporting herself against the stone wall next to her, and I can tell she's having difficulty breathing. Norrington turns away from her for just a moment, and Elizabeth faints and falls off the battlements.

"Elizabeth!" I cry as I run to the edge. I almost topple over myself when I come to a halt, but Norrington pulls me back, yelling Elizabeths name. He releases me and makes to jump in after her. Lieutenant Gillette stops him and they agree to just run down to the docks. I don't wait for them.

I reach the docks only slightly after Norrington does. Curse this dress for slowing me down!

Norrington is pointing his sword at a strange-looking man and Elizabeth is getting up from the dock where she was lying as I arrive. Father pulls off his coat and puts it around Elizabeth who, I now see, is wearing only her shift. I rush to her side and ask, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she responds, clutching the coat around her, but she looks shaken. I can tell she's been watching the scene before us, as she suddenly says loudly, "Father! Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"

Norrington looks at her and nods. He puts down his sword and his men follow suit. "I believe thanks are in order," he says to the strange man, holding out his hand.

The stranger looks at it warily before accepting the handshake. Norrington pulls the man's sleeve up to reveal a "P" branded onto his arm.

"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirate?"

My father speaks up now. "Hang him."

Norrington agrees with this, as he says, "Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons." He glances at a tattoo on the pirates arm. "Well, well, Jack Sparrow, isn't it?"

The pirate finally speaks. "Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please, sir." The lilt in his voice and the way he moves his hands in the air would, normally, make me smile (even if he is a pirate), but I'm still concerned about my sister.

"I don't see your ship, Captain," says Norrington mockingly.

"I'm in the market as it were," responds Sparrow. This pirate is extremely strange in my opinion. Calls himself Captain when he doesn't have ship!

"He said he'd come to commandeer one," says a guard.

Another holds out a hat and weapons. "Told ya he was telling the truth. These are his, sir."

Norrington starts inspecting the weapons. He picks up the gun. "No additional shots nor powder." He picks up the compass. "A compass that doesn't point north." He unsheathes the pirate's sword. "And I half expected it to be made of wood," he says with a superior smile. "You are without doubt the worst pirate I've ever heard of."

A very strange pirate, indeed, I think again.

"But you have heard of me," says Sparrow with a small grin. The grin is immediately wiped off his face when a soldier pulls him away to be put in chains.

Elizabeth whispers quickly to me, "Isabella, please stop this. At least try."

"Why don't you?" I ask angrily. Even if this is a strange, very un-pirate-like pirate, he's still a pirate. I'm not going to defend him.

"I don't want to anger James," she says. "Please, it's not right. I'll make it up to you."

I sigh. "Fine." I agree only because Elizabeth will be in my debt. She'll have to tell me about her behavior with Will this morning.

I stride up to Norrington. "Commodore, I must protest this."

He ignores me, saying to Gillette, "Carefully, Lieutenant."

I try again, standing in front of Sparrow. "He saved my sister's life! He saved the woman you want to marry!" This is a gamble, as I don't really know whether Norrington wants to marry Elizabeth or not, but I'm quite sure he does. And it seems I am right because Norrington falters and glances over at Elizabeth, who smiles gently at him.

But he turns back to me and says, "Isabella, one good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness."

Behind me, Sparrow answers back, "Though it seems enough to condemn him." He's very good-humored about the fact that he's been caught.

Norrington glares at him. "Indeed." Gillette finishes putting the irons around the pirate's wrists. He steps away.

I look helplessly at Elizabeth, and she gives me an encouraging nod and smile. I open my mouth to speak up again on Elizabeth's behalf. I have no idea what I'm about to say. I'm hoping that the words will just come. But it seems I don't need to worry about that at least because Sparrow speaks.

"Finally," he says. I suddenly feel his chains around my neck, pulling me backwards. I stumble back, falling against the pirate.

"No, don't shoot," my father yells. I glance next to him at Elizabeth, who is wide-eyed, afraid, and guilty. Oh, Elizabeth owes me for this!

"I knew you'd warm up to me," Sparrow says directly behind me. "Commodore Norrington, my effects, please, and my hat. Commodore!"

Norrington turns to grab the pirate's things.

"Isabella. It is Isabella, isn't it?" Sparrow asks me.

I don't answer. Norrington dumps Sparrow's things into my arms. Sparrow turns me around and says to me, "Isabella, if you'd be so kind. Come, come, dear, we don't have all day. Now, if you'd be very kind."

I am incredibly scared right now, but at the same time, I know Sparrow won't hurt me if I play along with him and don't argue. I start putting his things on him. I slap his hat onto his head, and then pat it down securely (and maybe a little harder than necessary). I wrap my arms around him to strap on his belt. And I pull it on a little too tightly, imagining that I'm Kate tightening a corset. I grin to myself as I do so.

"Easy on the goods, darling," Sparrow says.

I say nothing, but my grin falls and I glare at him.

He just grins back, saying, "Sticks and stones, love. I saved your sister's life, you save mine. We're square." He turns me around. "Gentlemen, ladies, you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"

He pushes me into the Commodore's arms and makes his escape. I don't watch. Instead, I untangle myself from Norringtons arms and I go straight to Elizabeth. I hear Norrington shout, "Open fire!" to his men and the gunshots begin. But I don't turn to look.

I face Elizabeth with a very unladylike snarl. She cowers behind my father, who sees me and wraps me up in a hug.

"What on earth were you thinking, Isabella? Going so near a pirate..." He trails off, muttering to himself as he releases me. Suddenly he stops and says to us, "Go back to the carriage, girls. I think you should go to bed and rest. It's been a long day for you both."

I nod. Elizabeth hesitates. She doesnt want to be alone with me when I'm so angry at her. But she doesn't have to worry. Father asks Lieutenant Groves to escort us home as there's a pirate running loose in Port Royal.

"Come, Miss Swann," Lieutenant Groves says to me. Elizabeth is already halfway off the docks. Groves and I walk faster to catch up with her.

We enter the carriage in silence and only Groves speaks to tell the coachman to take us to the Swann mansion. We're on our way through Port Royal when I start staring out the window. I see the normal activities of the citizens with the only difference being in the absence of children playing in the street and in the constant sight of red-coated soldiers running through town. Then I spot a brown-haired head that I would recognize anywhere.

"Stop the carriage!" I shout to the driver. Groves and Elizabeth both whip their heads to look at me. The carriage comes to a halt. I glance apologetically at my companions. "You go ahead –"

"No, Miss Swann," says Groves. "I was directed by the governor to see you home. We'll wait here."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll only be a minute." I step out of the carriage.

The streets aren't crowded, which allows me to run easily down the road (or at least as easily as I can in a corset and dress).

"Will!" I yell when I think I'm close enough.

I see the brown-haired man turn and I am incredibly grateful that it is, indeed, Will. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if it wasn't him.

When he sees me, he stops and starts walking towards me with an adorably confused expression. I come barrelling at him. The momentum that I have from all the extra weight on me (in the form of a huge dress) causes me to slam into Will. Not that I'm complaining about having his arms come around to steady me. A shock of warmth flows through me at the contact. But Will pulls back immediately.

"What are you doing, Miss Swann?" he asks me.

"Coming to talk to you," I answer, though Im not entirely sure. My initial reaction in seeing him from the carriage was to go to him. Now I'm not so sure.

"You shouldn't be out here," Will tells me. "They say there's a pirate loose in the town." He looks over my head, probably for my carriage.

"I know, Will. I met him," I say as Will takes my arms and starts leading me towards my carriage.

"You met him?" he asks, not really paying attention.

I want him to look at me. I feel the hurt coming back from this morning when he looked after Elizabeth as she left with such longing. I want Will to look at me like that.

Will speaks again. "I heard that your sister fell off the battlements. Is she alright?"

I can feel my irritation growing. "Yes, she's fine. The pirate saved her from drowning."

"Is she shaken from the experience?"

"She's fine, Will," I say shortly.

"But the pirate –"

"The pirate _saved_ her, Will! It's me he threatened!"

Finally! Will stops walking and he turns to me. His face tells me that he's genuinely concerned about me, and that makes me feel better. "You're alright, aren't you?" His eyes search my face, and I can feel a light blush forming. As he starts taking in my appearance, I become very aware of the fact that I look like I've been riding a wild horse. I look down at my dress, which has a large wet patch in the front from being pressed against the pirate (and I can guess that there's a similar one in the back). My dress is crumpled, and my neckline is awkward. I reach up and straighten it. I feel Will's hand running along my hair, which has come out of its elaborate arrangement. My hat must have fallen off sometime during my run down to the docks. And I have no idea where I left my parasol and fan. I must look a sight. I am definitely not the pretty young lady Will saw this morning.

But Will is still staring at my hair, almost in fascination, as his hand continues its movement. I can't stand seeing his expression. I'm too afraid to get my hopes up. Instead, I keep my eyes on Will's chest and watch it rise and fall as he breathes.

Then Will's hand falls away from my hair and latches onto my arm again. And before I know it, I'm being pulled (quite roughly, I might add) to the carriage.

"Will! What are you doing?" I ask as I struggle to keep up.

"You need to go home, Miss Swann. It's dangerous with that pirate on the loose. You should know that with the way he threatened you. You must be exhausted from your ordeal."

"Good Lord, Will! I'm not weak! He could have hurt me, yes! But he didn't! I'm fine!"

We've reached the carriage, and Will opens the door for me. He's annoyingly proper when he helps me into the carriage and says, "Miss Swann, please take your own safety into more consideration in the future. Now, please allow Lieutenant Groves to escort you safely home with no more interruptions." He has seen Groves sitting there patiently with the half-dressed Elizabeth in Father's coat across from him. Will bows to them and closes the carriage door in my face. Through the window, he says to me, "Good day, Miss Swann." Then he walks away.

I look over at Elizabeth as the carriage starts moving again. She raises an eyebrow at me, and I can tell she saw Will and I the whole time. I'm just lucky that Lieutenant Groves couldn't see us from where he was sitting. He would probably have reported our behavior to my father. Elizabeth will keep quiet. She _will_ give me a stern lecture about speaking to Will and allowing him to touch my hair in the open. But she won't lecture me in front of Groves. It will begin as soon as we reach the privacy of our house.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Here's the third chapter. Thank you to my reviewers!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Pirates._

* * *

**Chapter Three**

**A Sisterly Request and a Dangerous Night**

* * *

The door closes and two storms are unleashed.

"Isabella! Anyone could have seen –" starts Elizabeth. I don't hear the rest because I launch into my own attack.

"Are you happy now? The pirate got away...after using _me_ as his shield! 'Please stop this'?! Are you insane? Do you enjoy sending your little sister into danger? Well, you know what? Next time you want to save a pirate from a hanging, _you_ do it yourself! What on earth were you doing this morning?"

I hear Elizabeth stop speaking in surprise and I do as well. We stare at each other for a few seconds as I realize how extremely random and unconnected my last question was.

Elizabeth is the first to speak. "Oh, Isabella, Im sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to help the pirate. It's just, it's not fair that he got caught for saving my life. And I should have done it myself, but I truly didn't want to anger James. I was afraid he'd take back his proposal if I publicly opposed him." And, being the good, kind person that she is, Elizabeth looks to be on the verge of tears at the thought of upsetting her sister.

I can't stay mad at her anymore. "Well, Elizabeth, I forgive you. But you do know that Norrington would –" I break off when I realize something. "Did you just say he _proposed_?"

My sister smiles widely and nods in affirmation. "On the battlements before I fell."

"Well, what did you say?"

She bites her lip. "I didn't answer. I fell."

I let out a laugh. "Well, what _will_ you say?"

"Yes, of course. You know that."

I grin at her. "Yes, I do know that. Everyone knows that."

And suddenly we're laughing and squealing as we hug and jump around in the foyer of the mansion. Our anger is completely forgotten in our excitement.

Eventually we calm down and we're sitting on the bottom step of the staircase when Elizabeth says, "I wish you could be this happy, Isabella."

"I am happy," I respond.

"I know, but you have no idea how happy I am right now. To marry the man I love..."

"You love him?" I know she respects him and likes him well enough, but I never thought that she really _loves_ him. Not the way I love Will. But I must be wrong.

"Yes," Elizabeth says. She's so happy that she has tears in her eyes. And then she grabs a hold of my shoulders. "And all I want now is for you to marry the man you love."

"But –" I am about to deny the fact that I love anyone, but Elizabeth thinks I am going to say something else because she interrupts.

"Now I know Father wouldn't approve at first, but he'll warm up to Will. No one can disapprove of Will –"

I stand up abruptly. How does she know?

"Don't try to deny it, Isabella. I saw your expression this morning. Of course, I suspected it before, too, when you always insisted on visiting Will at the shop. But I wasn't sure if you still love him now a few years later, so I had to find out. And that scene by the carriage confirmed my thoughts."

"So this morning," I start quietly, sitting down again, "you just wanted to make me jealous?"

"Well...maybe...yes. I'm sorry!" Elizabeth does look guilty. Then she brightens up. "So it worked?"

I cant help it. I smile at her and respond, "Yes. Elizabeth, you could have just asked me."

"But would you have answered honestly?" she shoots back.

I sigh. "You're right. I would have denied it. I just, well, I – I think – I think Will loves you." Its the hardest thing to say because some part of me is still afraid that Elizabeth loves him back, even though I know now that she loves James Norrington.

But Elizabeth just laughs. "Will Turner does not love me, Isabella. He barely knows me."

"Did you see the way he looked at you this morning? And the way he said your name?"

"Isabella, I don't know what youre talking about."

"But I know that he –"

"Alright, then. Let's pretend that Will _thinks_ he loves me. But he really doesn't. You can't love someone if you dont know them."

I decide not to argue anymore. Let Elizabeth think she knows all. I stand up and start walking up the stairs to my room. I'm still in my dirty, rumpled dress (which is now dry) and my hair is a mess. Elizabeth, in her shift and Father's coat, follows me upstairs to her own room. When I get into my room, I ring the bell for my maid to come help me out of my dress.

Kate unties the laces on my dress and I slip out of it. Then Kate unties my corset and I gratefully take it off. I take pleasure in the fact that I can breathe again. My maid clucks disapprovingly at my hair, but she patiently brushes out all the knots and braids it. I put on a clean dress (one that doesn't require a corset) and I go downstairs for an early supper.

Elizabeth joins me there, but as soon as we've eaten, she goes straight back to her room to rest. Father comes home to eat, but he leaves for the fort immediately when he's finished.

I find myself with nothing to do. I try reading, but the only books we have are books about history, philosophy, and foreign languages. I quickly get bored of my book of essays by Plato. I can't seem to even understand what the Greek philosopher is trying to say.

I end up going upstairs to see Elizabeth. She's by the window when I walk in, but when she hears me enter, she jumps into her bed. I look at her quizzically and she explains, "I thought you were Estrella. Father has ordered that I'm not to leave my bed. I suppose he thinks I'm ill from nearly drowning." She grins at me. "At least you escaped the bedrest. He saw you in the dining room and diagnosed that you are perfectly sound."

I nod. "I feel absolutely fine. By the way, what were you doing by the window? It's getting dark. You can't really see anything out there."

She looks guilty. "I am trying to reply to James' proposal. I was thinking of sneaking out to the fort by climbing through the window, but I'd probably break my neck by jumping down."

"Why can't you wait until tomorrow?" I ask.

"I could, but...James must be concerned because I haven't answered yet. I want him to know that I love him and there's no time like the present." Elizabeth bites her lip for a moment, pondering a solution. Then she grins at me again and sits at her writing table. She pulls out letter paper and starts writing. I have a bad feeling about this. I sit down on Elizabeth's bed and watch her write. She throws away at least six pages before succeeding at whatever it is she's trying to do. She stands up and holds the envelope out to me.

"What is this?" I ask, though I'm pretty sure I know.

"My acceptance of James' proposal. And you're going to be my messenger." Elizabeth says this as if it's very matter-of-fact, as if I'll agree automatically.

"No, Elizabeth. You need to tell him yourself."

I stand up and start backing up towards the door.

"Isabella! Please do this for me. Besides, I am the one telling him. I wrote it all down." She sounds quite desperate.

"No, you already owe me for helping Sparrow." I'm almost to the door now.

"I'll help you visit Will," she offers.

Im shocked. Elizabeth, who always disapproved of my visits, is now encouraging them two years later.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because you love him. And I want to help you both realize how perfect you are for one another." She apologizing, I realize. She's truly sorry for stopping our visits.

I give in. I am a weak soul. I can't refuse my sister any favor that she asks of me. And I certainly can't pass up the opportunity to see Will more often. I hold out my hand for the letter. "I'll do it. But remember your promise."

Elizabeth nods solemnly as she gives me the letter.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, I'm running swiftly through Port Royal. In the end I had to sneak out. The servants didn't think it was a good idea to let me run around town at night. There are, after all, drunks and bad men out there at night. I told them I was going out to the garden. I took the servants' path away from the mansion.

Now I'm truly regretting that I agreed to this. Cannonfire started about four minutes ago. I'm terrified, but I'm closer to the fort than to home, so I know I'm going to keep my promise.

As I cross a larger street, I see Port Royal soldiers fighting dirty men who can only be pirates. I speed up as I run, but my dress gets in the way.

I trip. I fall flat on my face. I hear a cruel laugh above me and I know I can't run. A pirate! I curl up into a ball, as if that's going to protect me. Tears fall down my cheeks. I clutch onto Elizabeth's letter as if its a holy relic.

The clang of metal above me alerts me to the presence of someone else. I force myself off of the ground.

Will. My savior. Lord, how I love that man.

The pirate runs away when he realizes that beating Will isn't easy. Will looks at me, and he's surprised it's me whom he saved.

"Isabella? What are you doing here? You should be safe at home."

I hold up the letter. "I'm taking this to the fort."

He doesn't press the matter because he's very conscious of his boundaries. He probably thinks its some matter of business. I wonder what he would do if he knew it was Elizabeth's reply to the Commodore's proposal.

The street around us is empty. All the townsfolk have locked themselves into their homes or run away, and the pirates have followed. I look around me and then at Will. I take one step towards him.

I don't know who moved, but suddenly I'm wrapped up in Will's arms. It's not exactly comfortable because Will has his arms around me in a crushing, steel-like grip. He turns his head to whisper against my hair. "I'm so grateful that you're alright, Isabella. I know I didn't act like it this afternoon, but I do care about you. You know that, right?" I nod against his chest. "Good. Now, let's get you safely to the fort."

Will pulls away and I mentally groan at the loss of warmth. But I feel better instantly when he takes my hand and escorts me towards the fort.

* * *

We've been walking for about two minutes when we turn a corner and I cry out at the sight before me. A lone dead body is lying on the ground. The young woman was obviously killed while running for the fort. I squint at the person. When I recognize her and I notice the smaller body next to hers, I break away from Will to run to her.

I kneel next to the body of a former member of Elizabeth's circle of "friends." Mary Groves, who married a baker and is now the widowed Mary Price, is lying dead before me. The body of her three-year-old son is resting next to her.

Wills footsteps stop next to little Sams body. He kneels down and shakes the boys body.

"What are you –"

Sam stirs. I stare in wonder as the little boy sits up, sees us, and starts crying. But he's alive. Will is a miracle, I think.

Some maternal instinct in me takes over and I take the boy into my arms. He fights it, but I don't let go.

"Hush, darling. We're not going to hurt you. Hush, now. You're safe."

I feel stupid. I'm making up the words as I go along and I feel as if what I'm saying is silly. But I glance at Will and he gives me a soft smile.

"We need to get to the fort, Miss Swann," he says quietly. I get up, still holding Sam. I follow right behind Will and I carry Sam to the fort. He's stopped crying and now he's sleeping against my shoulder. Will takes me all the way to the stairs. We can see Norrington on top of the wall.

"I should go," Will says. "There are more pirates in town, and the soldiers will need all the help they can get."

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Will." I smile at him. He turns to leave, but I don't want him to go. Not with such proper and polite words. "Will!" He stops and turns. "Don't get hurt." It's all I can think of to say, but it seems to be enough.

Will comes back to me. He reaches a hand out and plays with the end of my braid. "I won't, I promise. Stay here, Isabella. Don't leave the fort." I nod and shift Sam in my arms. Will leans down and kisses the top of my head before walking quickly away.

I stand there, staring after him for a moment before I start up the stairs.

Norrington is close to the stairs and when I reach the top, he spots me right away. He is surprised, I can tell, to see me at the fort and with a young child. He comes over to me.

"Isabella, why are you here?"

I adjust Sam in my grip again. "Elizabeth asked me to bring you this." I hold out the letter for him to take. He stares at it. "Please, take it. I'm going to drop Sam."

He comes to his senses and he takes the letter. "You shouldn't have come."

"Well, I was almost here by the time the cannonfire started."

"Oh," Norrington says. I've never seen him so discomposed. He stares at the letter, and suddenly I realize that he thinks it's a rejection. It is common to reject a proposal by letter, but rarely, if ever, does one accept through writing. I start to grin, but Norrington doesn't notice. He slowly opens the letter. As he reads it, his frown turns into an impossibly large smile.

"Yes. She says yes. She loves me."

I smile at his joy. He really cares about her. It makes me glad to know that my sister will be with such a good man.

The blast of a cannon near us wakes Norrington from his stupor and wakes Sam from his sleep. The boy starts crying.

"Your father has barricaded himself in my office. You should do the same. Go to Lieutenant Gillette's office," Norrington says.

I ask him, "Where is Lieutenant Groves?"

"In town."

I nod and walk to Gillette's office. Once inside, I put Sam on the small couch and pull the desk to block the door. I lay down to sleep with Sam then. The boy falls asleep fast, but I remain awake.

I know that tomorrow I'll have to find Lieutenant Groves and tell him that his sister is dead. And then I'll have to hand Sam over to him for him to raise. That will be hard to do.

I try not to think of what has happened tonight. I try to block out the existence of the pirates and the sight of the dead and dying.

Instead, I think of Will. I think of how odd it is that now, after all these years, Will suddenly has the courage (or the audacity, depending on one's point of view) to caress my hair and kiss my head.

Throughout our entire friendship, Will and I were always careful to avoid physical contact beyond that of our hands touching. But that carefully maintained distance was broken this afternoon when I literally ran into Will. Perhaps that set it off. The poor boy is probably just confused.

Whatever the reason, I am going to enjoy it, at least for tonight. In my mind, I run through every moment that we've had today. I barely reach the point where he said, "Stay here, Isabella." I fall asleep hearing Wills voice in my head calling me "Isabella."


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thanks to my reviewers! Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

**A Missing Elizabeth and a Dreadful Mistake**

* * *

When I wake up, I am unsure of my surroundings, I hear a loud pounding against the door, and I realize that I've barricaded myself into Gillette's office. The events of last night come rushing back to me. A pirate attack, Will saving me, a dead girl.

I look down at Sam, who is sleeping curled up against me. I hate to wake him, as when he does he'll have to face what has happened, but I need to go to the door.

For a moment I'm afraid that there might be pirates outside this room, so I get up and go to the window. But I see only red-coated soldiers carrying the dead and injured. I hear Sam getting up from the couch and I tell him to stay there while I move the desk back to where it's supposed to be.

I finally open the door and see Lieutenant Groves standing on the threshold. I'm surprised. I expected Gillette to come.

"Miss Swann, thank goodness youre alright. Commodore Norrington asked me to come find you here. Your father is frantic with worry over his daughters. At least I can ease his worry a little when I bring you –"

Groves is looking behind me, and I know hes seen Sam. I look at the boy, who is now walking towards Groves, a smile on his lips at seeing a familiar face. Groves kneels down to pick up the boy and he stands up again. I know I have to explain.

"I found him...in the street last night...Lieutenant, your sister...she's dead...killed by pirates."

Groves turns away from me as I continue, "I was going to bring Sam to you. You're his closest relative. I thought you might take him in."

The lieutenant turns to me again, grief evident on his face. "Yes, I will take care of him."

"I'm so sorry that you've lost your sister." I feel helpless. I can't do anything to ease his pain.

Groves stares at me. "I must take you to your father. I believe he should be the one to tell you what has happened."

He doesn't let me ask. He motions for me to follow and then he leads me to where my father is standing with Norrington, perusing a map of the Caribbean.

I rush up to them. "Father! What has happened?"

My father hugs me briefly before looking into my eyes very solemnly. "The pirates have taken your sister."

Elizabeth? Why would they take Elizabeth?

I am at a loss for words. I've never been more scared, ever. Thinking of what they might do to my kind, innocent sister...

I look at Norrington, who looks truly worried. He is engrossed in his map and doesn't look at me. I look at my father again.

"Father, I –"

"They've taken her! They've taken Elizabeth!"

It's Will. My heart has never been so glad to see him, not so pained at how greatly he cares for my sister.

Norrington doesn't look up as he marks something on the map. "Mr Murtogg, remove this man."

A soldier moves forward to grab him, but Will wrenches his arms out of the soldiers grip. "We have to hunt them down, we must save her!"

My father says to him, "And where do you propose we start? If you have any information concerning my daughter, please share it."

Will glances at him and then notices me. He opens his mouth, but a guard speaks.

"That Jack Sparrow. He talked about the _Black Pearl_."

Was that the ship that attacked Port Royal last night? I wish Elizabeth was here; she knows much more than I do about pirates. Then again, if she was here, we wouldn't need to pursue the _Black Pearl_ at all.

"Ask him where it is," Will suggests. "Make a deal with him. He could lead us to it."

Norrington is very much against making deals with pirates. "No, the pirates who invaded this fort left Sparrow locked in his cell ergo they are not his allies." He turns to my father. "Governor, we will establish their most likely course –"

Will cuts in. "That's not good enough!" He very angrily swings his hatchet and buries it into the middle of Norringtons map. I'm slightly afraid of this Will, and at the same time sick. I wonder if he would get this wild if I were taken by pirates.

Norrington looks annoyed now. He pulls the hatchet out. "Mr Turner, you are not a military man, you are not a sailor. You are a blacksmith, and this is not the moment for rash actions. Do not make the mistake of thinking you are the only man here who cares for Elizabeth." He shoves the hatchet back at Will, who reluctantly takes it and starts walking away.

I itch to go after him. I am now more than ever sure of his feelings for Elizabeth. But I feel sorry for him. He loves her and is unable to save her.

I say to Father, "I'm going home to change."

He takes one proper look at my dirty dress and nods in agreement. I head in the direction of the mansion, but I duck through an alley to where Will was headed. I see him turning a corner and I run after him.

"Will!" I shout when I can see him. He stops and turns, even though when I see his face I can tell he doesn't want to. Will's just too polite to ignore me.

He bows his head to me formally, "I am most sorry for this dreadful occurrence, Miss Swann."

What happened to the warmth of last night? He kissed my head! And now he's acting as if we just met!

"Will, what's wrong? I thought we were friends...Why do you still insist upon being so proper and calling me 'Miss Swann'?"

"It isn't right for me to call you by your first name, Miss Swann." He's fidgeting, and I know he's desperate to leave my presence.

That annoys me to no end.

"Very well, then, _Mr Turner_," I spit out at him and he flinches. "I'll leave you alone, as you so obviously desire. But just remember, you're not the only one who is worried sick for Elizabeth. So don't pretend that you're in some sort of pain that the rest of us wouldn't understand."

I pick up my skirts and run away to the mansion.

Everyone is in an uproar. Our butler was shot and several others are injured. And with Elizabeth gone, too...At least the servants are glad to see that I'm safe.

I'm immediately whisked off by Kate to take a bath and put on clean clothes. She braids my hair again and allows me to pick a dress with no corset.

I can't bear being in this house. It had always represented safety; no one would attack the governor's house. But now things were in ruins. Chandeliers had fallen, gold and jewels were stolen, and servants were hurt.

I leave the house and decide to go down to the docks. It takes me a while to get there because of the chaos present from last night. At the docks, I immediately notice Norrington and Groves. I go up onto the _Interceptor_ to speak to the lieutenant.

"Lieutenant Groves," I start, and he turns to face me. "Is Sam alright?"

He smiles. "Yes, he's alright. He's still crying over his mother's death, but he'll recover. I took him home and put him in my wife's care. We'll raise him as our own son."

I'm glad to hear it.

"Miss Swann," he continues, "I never had the chance to tell you how grateful I am that you took Sam last night. For all I know, he could be dead right now if you hadn't. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know."

"You can do your best to save Elizabeth," I say with a bitter laugh.

"I shall."

Commodore Norrington hears this and puts in, "We will save Elizabeth. I promise you that, Isabella. Your sister will come safely home."

"To marry you," I add.

"Yes, to marry me," he grins suddenly. At least he has a real incentive to save Elizabeth.

We start to hear shouting. It's Gillette in a rowboat.

"Sir, they've taken the _Dauntless_! They've taken the ship! Sparrow and Turner – they've taken the _Dauntless_!"

Norrington pulls out his spyglass and starts looking at the _Dauntless_. "Rash, Turner, too rash. That is without doubt the worst pirate I've ever seen."

He starts calling orders to his men to pursue. We're a little ways away from the docks when Norrington realizes that I'm still here.

"Lock yourself in the Captain's cabin, Isabella. It will soon be over."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, I emerge from the Captain's cabin to discover Captain Jack Sparrow at the helm and Will Turner sharpening his sword.

Though I trust Will, I don't trust Sparrow, so I go back to the open doorway where they can't see me. I can hear them speaking.

"When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself. After she died, I came out here, looking for my father."

This isn't news to me. Will told me about his past long ago. But I wonder how they can be so casual. Surely Norrington is on their tail?

"Is that so?" Jack says in an uninterested voice.

"My father, Will Turner. At the jail it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack. You knew my father."

Im much more interested now.

"I knew 'im," says Jack. "Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill."

"Bootstrap?"

"Good man. Good pirate. I swear you look just like him."

Will's father was a pirate? Well, of course that explains the pirate medallion Elizabeth and I found when we rescued Will.

But Will denies it. "It's not true. He was a merchant sailor, a good, respectable man who obeyed the law."

"He was a bloody pirate, a scallywag."

I hear Will pull out his sword. "My father was not a pirate!"

I can understand Will's anger. He's hated pirates ever since they destroyed the ship he was sailing on eight years ago. To find out that his father was a pirate must be hard on him.

"Put it away, son. It's not worth you getting beat again," Jack says quite calmly.

"You didn't beat me. You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you."

So they've fought? I am extremely lost. Why would Will be on a ship with a pirate anyway? And how on earth did they get the _Interceptor_?

"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" Jack replies. I hear a loud groan as a sail moves. A sword clatters to the deck. I sneak up the stairs a bit to have a look. Jack is standing on deck with Will's sword in hand while Will is hanging from the sail.

Jack speaks. "Now, as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that matter are these: what a man _can_ do and what a man _can't_ do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday. Now, me, for example. I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesy, savvy? So..."

I watch the sail turn again when Jack spins the wheel. Will falls to the deck.

"Can you sail under the command of a pirate? Or can you not?" asks Jack, offering Will his sword.

Will takes it, saying, "Tortuga?"

Jack grins. "Tortuga."

Then Jack turns back to the wheel and Will sits against the railing again. And I know I can't hide forever. I let my heels make a lot of noise when I walk up the stairs.

I receive two very different reactions. Jack's face splits into a huge grin. "A stowaway," he comments. "And it's the Miss Swann I used as an escape. Didn't get enough of Captain Jack Sparrow, eh?"

Will, on the other hand, just stares at me, as if he's not sure that I'm real. I stare right back until Jack's words register inside my head.

I turn my glare on the pirate. "I've seen far too much of you, Captain Sparrow. I have no desire to repeat the experience."

"Ah, so you don't like me," he replies. He doesn't seem to care one way or the other.

"No, I don't think particularly highly of pirates," I shoot back.

"But you asked the Commodore to spare my life." He seems slightly interested now.

I roll my eyes. "At my sister's request."

Will finally comes out of his daze. He stands up and comes right in front of me. He seems to be thinking about what to say.

"Miss Swann, do you remember what I said yesterday?"

Of course. I remember everything that Will has ever said to me. But I don't know which statement he's talking about.

"I asked you to take your own safety more seriously."

Oh, the cold, formal words he said at the carriage.

"But you seem to enjoy putting yourself in danger."

I don't know where he's going with this. I really don't.

"Last night, running around town when there were pirates on the loose. And now you are here, pursuing pirates. Do you realize what might happen to you?"

Oh, I know what he's thinking now.

"Will," I start to explain. "Will, I did not stow away on this ship. I am not here because I want to be. I was on board the _Interceptor_ when Norrington set sail after you on the _Dauntless_. I went into the captain's cabin and when I came out, you were here. Now, as far as I know, I'm going God-knows-where to run after pirates who took my sister. Besides, what are you doing with Sparrow? And how did you get on the _Interceptor_?"

Will looks down as if ashamed. "I, uh, I broke Jack out of jail. We took the _Dauntless_ and then swung onto the _Interceptor_ after the soldiers and sailors were on the _Dauntless_ looking for us." He looks up at me again, this time defiantly. "No one else was actively doing anything to save Elizabeth."

"I know, Will, but Norrington will save her," I say, but Will just stares. "Okay, Will, I understand. But isn't the navy following you?"

"No. Jack did something to the _Dauntless_ to slow them down."

"I disabled the rudder chain," Jack explains. Of course, I don't know what that means, but if it makes him happy to feel smart, then I'll let him explain.

Jack speaks again. "Now that we're all caught up, let's get to work. Will, show Isabella how to –"

"No," Will says. "Miss Swann is not working on this ship. She will stay in the captain's cabin for the whole journey."

"Will, there's hardly anything dangerous out here. I'll stay up on deck. But Captain Sparrow," I say, turning to face him, "I will not work for a few reasons. First, I did not come on this rescue mission voluntarily, so I will not willingly help. I want to save my sister, but I have no intention of doing so with the help of pirates. Second, I am completely clueless about sailing a ship. Thirdly, and most importantly, I am wearing a dress. And unless you want to jump into the sea again to save a Swann, I highly suggest that you let me simply watch."

Jack smirks. "Alright then, but you're coming to Tortuga with us. I don't trust you to not set the ship on fire – whether by accident or on purpose – to let you stay here alone."

Looks like I'll have to choice but to enter the hellhole of the Caribbean.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I should be updating in around another week with chapter six. Until then, read and enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates of the Caribbean.

* * *

**Chapter Five**

**An Insightful Discussion and a Weak Stomach**

* * *

I'm in the captain's cabin, reading one of the books here. It's not the type of book I would normally choose, but the selection isn't very good. I am reading a book about ships. Yes, a book about ships. I wish I could take in this information, as it might prove to be useful in the (very near) future. But the language of the book is so dry that I'm dozing about half an hour into it.

Shouts alert me to the fact that Jack and Will are fighting above me. I emerge from the cabin and I hear Will yelling, "I won't let you! It's not proper!"

"Breaking a pirate out of jail is hardly proper, William," Jack says. At least he's not shouting. When I reach the top of the stairs, he sees me and winks at me. I roll my eyes at him in response.

"No, Jack, that's different. I'm a blacksmith. Isabella is a _lady_. And she is not to go into a town like Tortuga." Will's not yelling anymore, but he's still talking loudly and firmly. And he hasn't noticed me.

Jack starts grinning as he shoots me a glance. "She's just a lass, Will. We'll keep her close and nothing will happen. Why does it matter so much to you?"

I glare at him and I know he's guessed at something, though I don't know exactly what. But he knows more than he should, that's for sure.

Will falters in his answer. It comes out softer and slower than his previous words. "Isabella is an old friend. We were best friends as children. I don't want any harm befalling her. It's bad enough that she's here."

It hurts to hear him say that we're just friends. I always knew it, but hearing it from his mouth sends a painful jolt into my heart.

And Jack is looking at my reaction. I know I'm not hiding my feelings at all. Now Jack knows my deepest secret: I love Will Turner.

Will is now turning around to see what Jack is staring at. I quickly school my face into a neutral expression.

"I know I'm a bother to you, Will, but I didn't choose to come. I'll try to stay out of your way. It'll be like I'm not even here," I say to him, a (hopefully) blank look on my face.

He looks extremely embarrassed that I heard. "No, Isabella, you're not a bother. It's, well, it's hard for me to concentrate on saving Elizabeth when I'm worrying about you as well."

"Then don't worry about me." I inwardly flinch. That came out much harsher than intended. But I reassure myself with the fact that Will doesn't want me near him. He never has, not since he turned sixteen. He didn't want me in the shop. He didn't want me when Elizabeth was taken. He doesn't want me now.

"Isabella, I will always worry about you," Will says, a baffled expression on his face, probably a reaction to my coldness.

I feel my irritation and anger melt away. My heart always swells with love when Will looks at me like this. Whenever Will looks so apologetic and pained at hurting me, even when he has no idea what he's done, I immediately forgive him for everything.

Now I can't stay angry anymore. "Will," I say, and I sigh. I can't look at his face or my heart will break. He has no idea how I feel.

A glance at Jack tells me that he does know exactly what I feel for Will. He's smirking, though, and he seems to be having fun. I'm delighted that my pain amuses him.

I look at Will, who now has a pleading look in his eyes. "What did I do, Isabella?"

I want to say, "You fell in love with my sister and not with me." But that would be stupid. So I say, "Nothing, Will. You did nothing." I attempt a smile, but it comes out more like a grimace.

Will studies me for a moment. He probably guesses that this is a lie, but he nods slowly to accept my answer. Then he walks past me down the stairs and goes below deck.

I sit against the railing. Jack sits down next to me. I don't look at him, but he observes me for a few seconds before speaking.

"You know he's just confused," he says.

"I don't understand."

"He's not sure how he feels about you."

"How can he not know? I've known since the moment I first saw him that I would love him. And when I got to know him, I knew that I love him."

"Well, I have a feeling that young Mr Turner thinks he's in love with your sister," Jack says, looking away from me.

"He is," I say miserably.

"Nah, he just thinks he is. He was very adamant about saving her, and he did say he would die for her, but he has a hero complex. He likes the idea of saving the damsel in distress." Jack shifts to sit in front of me. "Let me tell you something. I was in the blacksmith's shop taking off my irons when Will walked in. And when he saw me, he was furious. He said he was going to fight me because I threatened you. He cares about you, Isabella. Sure, he cares about your sister, too, because she's the unattainable high society angel whom every boy is enamored with. But he doesn't love her."

"He doesn't love me either, so what does it matter? He doesn't want me here." I avoid Jack's eyes.

"No, he doesn't," Jack agrees. "He's terrified that something will happen to you. Did you hear any of that argument I had with him just now?"

"Yes, I heard him say we're just friends."

"No wonder you think he doesn't love you at all. Isabella, you need to stop being purposefully blind to Will's feelings. Don't assume that he doesn't and can't love you."

* * *

Will gave up on making me stay on the ship. I told him that I'd feel safer with him than I would alone on a huge ship.

Now we're walking through Tortuga. Will is walking a step behind me so he can watch my every move. I let Jack go in front of me because I don't know my way around Tortuga.

Jacks says, "It is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy? What do you think?"

"Disgusting," I say. I keep my eyes on Jack's back and avoid the disturbing images around me.

"It'll linger," Will answers.

Jack doesn't care that we don't like it. "I tell you, mate, if every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."

I highly doubt this because Jack gets slapped by two women in a row.

* * *

Jack leads us to a stable behind a tavern. There, a man is sleeping in the pig sty. Jack grabs a bucket and fills it up with water. He hands it to Will, and he grabs another for himself.

Jack throws the bucket of water on the sleeping man. The man wakes up sputtering and says, "Curse you for breathing, you slack-jawed idiot! Mother's love! Jack! You should know better than to wake a man when he's sleeping. It's bad luck."

But Jack kneels next to him and responds, "Ah, fortunately I know how to counter it. The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who was sleeping drinks it while listening to a proposition from the man who did the waking."

"Aye, that'll about do it."

The man stands up and Will douses him with another bucketful of water.

"Blast! I'm already awake!"

Will replies, "That was for the smell."

The man shrugs. Then he sees me and his eyes widen.

"Its Miss – Miss – the governor's daughter. Miss –"

"– Swann," I answer, slightly confused.

"Isabella Swann, aren't you? What is she doing here, Jack?" Gibbs looks at Jack with accusation in his eyes.

"Accident," Jack answers with a smirk.

Suddenly I recognize the man. "Mr Gibbs! The sailor on the crossing from England!"

He grins at me. "Youve grown up well, Miss Isabella. Is your sister still in Port Royal?"

Jack cuts in. "Let's talk, Master Gibbs."

We all go into the tavern we walked past. Jack goes to the bar while Gibbs sits down at a table. Will and I stand by a wooden pillar.

"Keep a sharp eye," Jack says as he passes us with two tankards of rum.

I feel slightly worried, standing here in a tavern where almost every man has a whore on his lap. I scoot closer to Will. He makes me feel safe. I get close enough that our arms brush against each other, but I'm still scared that some man will mistake me for a whore. But I don't dare get closer to Will.

I look around the tavern. I see too many drunks and prostitutes. I feel slightly sick at the smell of so many dirty, sweaty bodies. I put my hand over my mouth and I take keep breaths. Will asks me, "Are you alright?" and I nod back. But I'm not alright. I feel closeted in. As I glance around, I feel worse and worse at the sights that were never meant for a young lady's eyes. When I see a drunk throw up on the floor, I start feeling the bile rise in my throat.

I rush out of that tavern and turn the corner. And I vomit. I throw up what little food I had in my stomach. I hear people passing by and saying things like "disgusting" and "drunk whore."

"Oh, Isabella..."

Will has found me, I hear. I've stopped vomiting now and I lean against the wall next to me. Will comes to a stop in front of me.

"You said you were alright," he says.

"I didn't want to seem weak," I respond. "I can't even handle a tavern. I really am a bother, aren't I?"

"No, Isabella. You're not a bother, and you're not weak. You're just not used to such an awful place."

"Thank you, Will." I can't stop it. A smile forms on my face. Will is here. He came after me.

"For what?" He has that adorable puzzled expression on his face.

"For coming to find me." Then, to lighten the mood, I ask, "Will you always run after me when I sprint out of a tavern to vomit?"

He smiles. "Yes, Isabella. I will always come after you."

My mind ignores this revision, but my heart acknowledges it and starts beating faster. I hear Jack's voice in my head saying, "You need to stop being purposefully blind to Will's feelings." I look up at Will, my heart pounding.

He opens his mouth to speak. I feel hope rising in my heart, but Will only says, "Would you like a glass of water to clean out your mouth?"

* * *

We return to the _Interceptor_ to sleep. Jack thought about going to an inn, but he realized that one of the men would have to share a room with me for my own safety, so he decided to stay onboard for the night. I have a suspicion that he was actually considering forcing me to share a room and a bed with Will, but some shred of kindness in him showed up and he decided not to torture us. Because that would be awkward.

So here we are on the _Interceptor_. Jack heads down to the first mate's cabin. He has been surprisingly kind in letting me have the captain's cabin. Will doesn't go down to the crew's quarters just yet. He stands by the railing, staring out at the sea. I'm about to go to my cabin, but I change my mind and I come up next to Will.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask him.

"Somewhere out there, Elizabeth is on a ship with evil pirates." He seems concerned but at the same time calm. And again, I think of something Jack said about Will caring about Elizabeth and wanting to save her but not loving her.

"We'll save her, Will."

"We?" he asks, turning to look at my face.

I smile grimly. "I didn't mean to come on this adventure of yours, Will, but I'm here now, and I might as well try to be useful. And I do want Elizabeth to be safe. I'm so frightened for her."

Will looks at me intently. "Then we'll save her."

"Yes, we will." I smile and say, "Goodnight, Will."

I head for the captain's cabin, and by the time I'm closing the door, Will is heading down to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, Jack knocks on my door. "Come on, love! Let's go see me crew!"

Gibbs is standing next to a line of men when we row to the dock. "Feast your eyes, Captain. All of them faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot," he adds as if this is very important.

Will looks sceptical. "So this is your able-bodied crew?"

Jack just gives him a silencing look. He stops in front of a sailor. "You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs supplies.

"Mr Cotton, do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death? Mr Cotton! Answer, man!"

Gibbs jumps in. "He's a mute, sir. Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured how..."

"Mr Cotton's parrot," Jack says. "Same question."

The parrot squawks out, "Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!"

Gibbs explains, "Mostly, we figure, that means yes."

"Of course it does," Jack says, perfectly happy.

"He could have just nodded," I remark. Everyone turns to stare at me and I add, "Or not." Will's smiling at least.

Jack looks to Will. "Satisfied?"

"Well, you've proved they're mad," he answers.

"What's the benefit for us?" a high voice calls. Jack follows the voice to a sailor with a large-brimmed hat. He takes it off to reveal a woman.

"Anamaria," he acknowledges and he gets slapped.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either," Will comments.

"No, that one I deserved," Jack admits.

Anamaria nods. "You stole my boat!"

"Actually," Jack starts and he get slapped again. "Borrowed. Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't!"

I'm starting to understand how Jack feels so amused when I'm in an awkward position. I'm enjoying this far too much.

"You'll get another one," Jack promises.

Anamaria points a finger in Jack's face. "I will."

Will cuts in. "A better one."

"A better one!" Jack repeats.

"That one," Will says with a smirk, pointing at the _Interceptor_. He's obviously enjoying this, too.

"What one? That one?!" Jack glares at Will. He smiles at Anamaria. "Aye, that one. What say you?"

Anamaria ponders for a moment then shouts, "Aye!" and the crew echoes it. They walk off to the rowboats to get to the _Interceptor_. Gibbs comes to Jack's side.

"No, no, it's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir."

Jack just looks at him, then at the sky. "It'd be far worse not to have them." And then he goes to our boat.

The rest of us just cock our heads to look up at the sky, trying to see what Jack saw.


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews! They inspire me!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates.

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**An Irresistible Neck and an Unbelievable Story**

* * *

"Storm ahead!" calls the lookout in the crow's nest.

I'm standing on deck and I watch as the crew expertly sails the ship. Jack shouts out orders that I don't understand. I start getting scared of the coming storm. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do. I don't know anything about sailing, so I've been trying to stay out of the crew's way. And some of the crew members dislike me, I know. They don't like me because I'm useless. It even makes me dislike myself.

I see Will go up to Jack and say something, and then Jack calls to me, "Isabella, go to your cabin. Stay there until the storm's over."

Some of the crew looks at my annoyed, but I ignore them and enter the captain's cabin. I close the door and walk to the bed, determined to sleep through the storm.

But when the storm finally hits, I'm wide awake and too afraid to sleep. The rocking of the ship under me is definitely not soothing; it is frightening. I grip the headboard as I kneel on the bed. And I pray. I hardly ever pray. I only do so every Sunday at church. But I pray now. I pray for my life, and Jack's life, and the crew's lives, and I pray twice as hard for Will's life.

And when I'm finished praying, I just sit on the bed, looking around me without really seeing anything. I don't know how long I sit there. I'm expecting the door to open at any minute to let in a flood of water that will either drown me or pull me out into the storm.

The rocking starts to slow down and grow calmer. I breathe a sigh of relief. But when the door flies open, I still scream.

I immediately feel foolish. It's not a torrent of water coming to kill me. It's just Will. And he is standing in the doorway uncertainly. Behind him, the storm is dying down and half of the crew is headed below deck to sleep after a long day. As the storm clouds move on, I see a dark sky and stars, telling me that I've been in here for hours. Then I can't see outside anymore because Will shuts the door.

For the first time since he came in, I really look at him. He's drenched. His clothes are sticking to his body and his hair has come loose from where it was tied back. He looks exhausted. And Will has never looked more handsome to me. I even swallow tightly to stop myself from saying so. My hand closes around the headboard again to control my urge to leap up and kiss him.

"Are you alright, Isabella?" Will asks, coming forward and dripping water onto the floor.

"_Me_? Yes, I'm fine. What about _you_? You look awful."

Of course, this is a lie. He does look worn out, but Will could never look truly _awful_.

Will smiles briefly. "I _feel_ awful. But I'm alright, just tired."

"I was so scared that you'd be washed overboard," I say.

"But I wasn't," he reassures me. "I'm right here."

Yes, I'm very aware of his presence in front of me. I'm still sitting on the bed and my hand tightens again on the headboard.

Will steps forward again to stand about a foot away from me. I'm afraid that my hand will become permanently attached to this headboard. My hand hurts; that's how hard I'm gripping.

I glance up at Will's face and I see him just looking at me. I automatically lower my gaze and lock my eyes on his throat. Which isn't the best idea because when I see him swallow, I want to touch my lips to that perfect throat.

We are in complete silence. I'm too afraid to speak, as I know that when I do, I won't be able to hold in my feelings.

And then something strange happens. Eyes still on Will's throat, my hand on the headboard releases its hold. All of a sudden, there's nothing anchoring me to the bed. And even though my mind is screaming for me to stop, my legs touch the floor and my body straightens out as I stand.

I expect Will to step back to accommodate my body between him and the bed. But he doesn't. He just stands there, staring. And I feel like the tide, unable to resist the pull of the moon. An inch remains between us. One inch. An inch that disappears when I raise myself up on my tiptoes and place my lips on Will's tanned, beautiful neck.

And a chain reaction begins. Will gasps very quietly, but I still hear it. His arms pull me flush against his wet body and wrap around my waist to trap me there. My own arms are stuck between us, my hands on Will's chest. I turn my head to run my lips softly from the base of his neck to his jaw.

Before I know it, my head has been wrenched away and Will's lips are on mine. I have never tasted anything sweeter. His mouth moves on mine, and I'm grateful that he, at least, knows what he's doing.

Years of our unspoken no-touching rule come back to me, and all I want is to be even closer to Will. My dress-front is wet through and I can feel Will's body heat making up for it. And yet, it's not enough. I want to feel my breasts pressed against his chest. I try to move my arms, but because of Will's tight grip, the most I can do is rub my hands up and down on his chest.

And all of a sudden, I've been pushed away and I've fallen to the edge of the bed. Will is on the other side of the room, his back facing me. I notice that hes breathing heavily and running a hand through his hair. Only then do I realize how discomposed I am myself. My breath is fast, my lips feel swollen, and my whole body is tingling.

But at the same time, I feel like crying. _He pushed me away_ is all I hear inside my head. I even wonder why Will is still here. He doesn't want me near him. Why hasn't he left yet?

Will doesn't turn, but he speaks. "Miss Swann, allow me to express my sincerest apologies. I had no intention of letting things get so out of control. Will you forgive me?"

Now he turns around to look at me. He has an apologetic expression on his face, but it's not the one that makes my heart melt. Because he knows what hes done. And I'm not mad at him for it.

So I just stare at him. I see his eyes take in my appearance.

"Please, Miss Swann. I could not bear it if you hated me for this," Will says. "My lack of self-control is...abominable. I swear to you that I will never let this happen again."

I'm sure he would gladly continue promising to keep his distance, but I don't want to hear it. I want him to kiss me again.

"No, Will. Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong."

"_Nothing wrong_? I kissed you, Isabella. And that was not right."

He doesn't seem to notice his slip when he called me Isabella. He's still trying to be proper.

"No, don't apologize! I'm not sorry that it happened!" I cry out and I stand up. It's too late for hiding my feelings now. "Will, I wanted you to kiss me. I prompted you to do so. I don't care if its not proper or acceptable." I walk to him and stop directly in front of him. "I _want_ you to kiss me."

Will takes a step back, but I close the distance and put my arms around his neck. And then I kiss him. Will freezes. He doesn't move at all. Then he reaches up and takes my hands away from his neck. He pulls away.

"No, Miss Swann. I can't. If anyone ever found out..."

"Then we won't tell anyone," I offer.

"But I would know. I can't allow this, Miss Swann. I can't take advantage of your youth and innocence –"

"My God, Will! You're only two years older than me!" I am very agitated now. Why can't he see? "Will, please –"

Now he cuts me off. "No, Miss Swann. I will not change my mind on this issue. We will save your sister from the _Black Pearl_ and then we will return home to Port Royal. And once we're there, things will go back to the way they were. They must. Because you're the governors daughter and I'm a blacksmith. And that's how it has to be."

"But –"

"Goodnight, Miss Swann." Will opens the door and leaves, shutting the door firmly behind him. And I guess he knows that I'm going to follow because when I try to open the door, it won't budge. And I know Will is holding it shut.

A sob escapes me. I try to cover it, but I can't. Pretty soon, loud sobs are wracking my body and I have to sit down against the door. _He doesn't want me,_ I think over and over again. I think it even slips out in spoken form a few times. When I finally quiet down, I just lean against the door feeling empty.

And then I hear movement behind the door and footsteps moving away from the cabin. I turn around, crack the door open, and peak through. Will is walking away, and I know he heard me. But I don't go after him. I don't want to see him. I shut the door.

* * *

I stay in my cabin after that so I can avoid seeing Will. The next day, Jack comes in to see what's wrong. He even brings me some food.

"So, what was the argument about?" he asks, not bothering to pretend that he's here for some other reason.

I chew on some bread and answer hollowly, "About whether or not Will should have kissed me."

"Ah."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to say something?"

"I can see his dilemma," Jack finally says.

"Enlighten me."

He grins at my response. "Well, he's still confused about his feelings for you and for your sister, so he feels guilty about taking advantage of you. Add the fact that William is obsessed with propriety, and you have one very confused boy."

He grabs an apple from the tray and starts eating it.

"You know what, Jack?" I say, laughing. "This reminds me of my conversations with Elizabeth! You're like a girl, talking about relationships with such clarity!"

I laugh harder at Jack's annoyed expression. He throws his apple at me and it hits my forehead. "Ow," I say, but I can't stop laughing. I need this. I need to feel happy and silly.

"Alright, then, love. Here's some advice from your fellow lass," Jack says. I'm so lucky that he's so amazingly good-humored. "You can't hide in here forever. Go out there and tell him you understand and respect his decision."

* * *

Jack has sent me on a mission. But now I can't find Will. I glance around deck and I search the entire ship below deck. Finally, I figure I might as well ask someone. I ask Gibbs because anyone else would glare at me and then return to their task without saying a word. Gibbs looks at me knowingly and points up at the crow's nest.

I just know that my dress will make me trip, but I have no other clothes. So I sit down at the base and wait.

After what feels like an hour but was probably only fifteen minutes, I see Will climbing down. He must have seen me already, but at least he is coming down to talk to me.

"What can I do for you, Miss Swann?" he asks once he's down.

Jack said to not snap at him, but I can't help it when I hear what he says. "You can stop calling me Miss Swann and start saying Isabella, for one."

Will doesn't even look at all surprised. Although, I suppose, I have asked him enough times that it doesn't faze him in the least.

"Anything else, Miss Swann?" he asks politely.

Oh, now I'm annoyed. Can't he comply with such a simple request? I'm not asking him to run himself through with a sword! I'm just asking him to call me Isabella!

"Well, you could – you could steal Jack's compass for me!"

I know this is absurd. Will knows it, too. He lifts his eyebrows but says nothing.

"Ugh! Will, I understand that you feel you need to be proper no matter where we are. I _understand_. You needn't kiss me if you don't want to. But we _are_ on a ship full of pirates and here you _can_ call me Isabella. You can call me Isabella anytime you want, even in Port Royal. Im asking you to, please."

I know we've been through this before, but I start ranting about it because I don't know what else to say.

"Very well, Miss – Isabella," Will says. "I will do my best to do as you request. But as soon as we return to Port Royal, you are Miss Swann again, understood?"

I nod, but inside I'm disappointed. Oh, well, maybe I can change his mind again once we're home.

Gibbs comes up then and tells Will to get to work. They both move to tie down some ropes and I follow because I have nothing better to do.

I hear Cotton's parrot say, "Dead men tell no tales." I look out at what surrounds us and I find that we're entering a lagoon. Pieces of wood drift in the water and sharks swim beneath the waves. I shudder.

Gibbs notices and says, "Puts a chill in the bones how many honest sailors have been claimed by this passage."

Will looks up at Jack and asks, "How is it that Jack came by that compass?"

The two stop working and I sit down next to Will to hear Gibbs' answer.

"Not a lot's known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta. That was before I knew him, back when he was Captain of the _Black Pearl_."

I'm surprised to learn this. Will says exactly what is on my mind. "What? He failed to mention that."

Gibbs replies. "Well, he plays things closer to the vest now. And a hard-learned lesson it was. See, three days out on the venture the first mate comes to him and says everything's an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure too, so Jack gives up the bearings. That night there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he'd gone mad with the heat."

"Ah," responds Will. "So that's the reason for all the –" He imitates Jack's movements.

"Reason's got nothing to do with it. Now Will, Isabella, when a pirate is marooned he is given a pistol with a single shot. Well, it won't do much good hunting or to be rescued. But after three weeks of a starvin' belly and thirst, that pistol starts to look _real_ friendly. But Jack – he escaped the island and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won't use it, though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate."

"Barbossa," Will comments.

Gibbs nods. "Aye."

"How did Jack get off the island?"

"Well, I'll tell ye. He waded out into the shallows and he waited three days and three nights 'till all manner of sea creature came and acclimated to his presence. And on the fourth morning, he roped himself a couple of sea turtles, lashed 'em together and made a raft."

By now, I'm rolling my eyes. Impossible. But Gibbs seems to believe it.

"He roped a couple of sea turtles?" Will is as incredulous as I am.

"Aye, sea turtles," Gibbs repeats.

"What did he use for rope?"

I almost laugh at Gibbs' expression because he has no idea how to respond. A hole in the story.

"Human hair, from my back," says Jack, who obviously heard the end of the conversation. "Let go of the anchor!" he yells to the crew.

I look at Jack and ask, "How long did it take you to come up with _that_ story?"

He just grins at me. "Young Mr Turner and I are to go ashore," he says to Will and Gibbs.

Gibbs speaks up. "Captain! What if the worst should happen?"

"Keep to the code."

"Aye, the code."

Jack walks to the side of the ship and lowers himself into the rowboat. Will comes up to me.

"I'll bring your sister back, Isabella, I promise."

"Thank you, Will. But make sure that you come back, too," I say, a worried expression settling onto my face.

Will reaches a hand up to touch my braid. Then he's gone.

"He'll come back," says Gibbs as Jack and Will row their boat towards the cave.

"What is the code?" I ask. I've never heard of a pirates' code before. That would be Elizabeth's area of expertise.

"The code has specific rules outlining pirate laws. In this case, we were talking about the part that says that any man who falls behind is left behind."

Please come back, Will. Bring Elizabeth back.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Sorry about the longer wait, everyone. Here's the next chapter! The page breaks aren't working, so I have put smaller lines in. As soon as it's fixed, I'll edit and repost the chapter correctly._

_A/N 2: I fixed the page breaks and Chapter 8 is now posted. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates.

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**A Cursed Medallion and a Heroic Will**

**

* * *

**

About an hour later, I see a boat coming towards us. But there are only two figures, not the three that I expected. One is wearing a dress, so I assume thats Elizabeth. I run to the side of the ship where Elizabeth and Will – whom I now recognize – climb the ladder to the deck. Elizabeth comes up first, feet bare and dress soaking wet.

"Isabella!" she cries as she sees me. I rush forward to hug her tightly. She looks behind me. "Not more pirates..."

I pull back and notice Will just reaching the deck. And I remember that it's just the two of them.

"Will, where's Jack?"

He won't meet my gaze. "He fell behind." Then he takes Elizabeth's arm and pulls her below deck. Elizabeth looks behind her and asks me to come with them.

Below deck, we sit down on crates while Elizabeth tells her story.

"The pirates came into the mansion and found my hiding place. I said parley so they wouldnt kill me. They took me aboard the _Black Pearl_ and I asked Barbossa to stop attacking Port Royal. He wanted the medallion, so I made a deal with him to leave. But he kept me on the ship after hearing my name. I had lied, of course, and said my name was Elizabeth Turner. Barbossa told me about the curse on the medallion. They took me to the Isla de Muerta, where they tried to use my blood to lift the curse. Then Will brought me here..."

I have so many questions. My biggest is this: Why did she say her name was Elizabeth _Turner_? But instead I ask, "You spoke of a curse and a medallion. What are they?"

Elizabeth pulls on a chain around her neck. Out comes the medallion. And I recognize it. Its the pirate medallion that we found around Wills neck when we rescued him.

She explains, "It's cursed Aztec gold. Barbossa said he'd heard of the curse but thought it an old tale. But they took the gold. And they _are _cursed. They can't die. In the moonlight, they turn into skeletons. It terrified me when I saw them at night."

"So why did Barbossa need your blood?" I ask.

"He _thought_ he needed my blood. He needs someone else's blood. Someone who was there to take the gold."

I glance at Will because I have a horrible sinking feeling that it's Will that they need. He doesn't speak. He just stares at the medallion in Elizabeth's hand. I see the cut on her palm and I search around the storeroom for some cloth. I finally find some and bind my sister's wound. Finally, Will speaks and I notice that he's taken the medallion.

"I thought I'd lost it the day they rescued me. It was a gift from my father. He sent it to me. Why did you take it?"

He's glaring at Elizabeth. And even though I would hate for Will to be mad at me, too, I can't let my sister take the wrath that is meant for us both.

"If anyone else had found it," I start as Will's glare turns on me, "you would have been hanged for being a pirate."

Realization dawns on Will's face and his gaze on me softens. "So you knew, too." I don't answer; I don't need to. He continues, "It wasn't your blood they needed, Elizabeth. It was my father's blood, my blood, the blood of a _pirate_."

"I'm so sorry," Elizabeth says. "Please forgive me."

Will's response is to slam the medallion down onto the table next to him. Elizabeth gives me a worried look and goes back to the deck.

I stay below with Will. I'm slightly afraid that he'll lash out at me, too, after seeing him slam down the medallion. But soon, Will's hand moves away from it and he stares down at it. And then, very quietly, he speaks.

"Jack was going to use me as leverage, you know," Will says without even looking at me. "He was going to hand me over to Barbossa in return for getting his ship back."

I don't think Jack is like that. Sure, he's odd and he wants his ship back, but I doubt he would trade Will for the _Black Pearl_.

"Are you sure about that, Will?" I ask timidly. I shrink back when Will glares at me, anger burning in his eyes.

"Do you think I'm lying to you?" he asks tensely.

I cringe, but I find the voice to answer back. "Of course not. But you could be wrong."

"Oh, yes, of course," Will laughs bitterly. "Go ahead and defend him, _Miss Swann_." He spits out my name. "I know _exactly_ how you feel about _bloody Jack Sparrow_!"

I can't stop myself from correcting him. "_Captain_ Jack Sp –"

"Bloody hell, Bella!" Will almost roars as he stands up to glare down at me.

And I am terrified. I have never seen Will this angry. And he has never – not ever in our eight years of friendship – lost his temper with me. And I suddenly realize that Will called me Bella. He has never called me that. How ironic it is that he gives me a nickname when he's furious with me. All this thinking takes place within the time span of a few seconds, and I respond to Will's outrage.

"Will, I don't know what you're talking about," I say, my voice shaking.

"Don't you?" he snaps back in a voice that tells me I should know. But I don't. "Don't act so innocent, Isabella. I know how much you care for Sparrow."

"Of course I do –"

Will grabs my arms and pulls me up roughly from my seat. He releases his hold and I take a few steps back. But the wall prevents me from retreating any further. And before I know it, Will is right in front of me again.

"Isabella, must you play with a man's emotions so?" He's not yelling or raging anymore, but he is still angry. He speaks roughly. "Don't lie to me, Isabella. I know how much time you've been spending with Sparrow on this journey. And I have seen how much happier you look after being with _him._"

Will thinks I'm in love with Jack, I realize. And he's mad about it. He's jealous. Maybe.

"Will, I'm not in love with Jack," I say, but my voice is still uncertain.

"Aren't you?" Will is gazing into my eyes very intently.

"No, I am not." My voice is stronger now that Will isn't so mad anymore.

"But you –"

"Will," I interrupt. "I enjoy spending time with Jack and I care about him because he's my _friend_. I feel better after I've spoken to him because he assures me that _you_ care about me and that you're not in love with my sister."

This causes all that was left of Will's anger to disappear. He is frowning in confusion.

"Elizabeth? You think I'm in love with _Elizabeth_?"

"Well, I _did_."

"But why?"

"You can't really blame me, Will. The way you looked at her the morning of the ceremony...and you were so furious when she was taken. And you went to such lengths to save her. Why else would you be so desperate to save her?" I'm looking at the floor because I don't want Will to see my sadness.

Will sounds so helpless when he answers. "I admit I was once very attracted to your sister, but I never _loved_ her. I barely ever spoke to her."

"But you went after her," I point out.

"Yes, well, I suppose I wanted some adventure. And at the time – though I'm embarrassed to admit it – I thought I loved her. But I realized I didn't when I saw you on the ship, and all I wanted was to take you safely back to Port Royal and let Norrington find Elizabeth. But by then, if I returned without your sister, I would have been hanged for what I'd done."

When Will finishes his explanation, I look up at him. He's the one staring at the floor now. It's an awkward moment, and I need to break the silence. So I blurt out the first thing that enters my mind.

"They're going to get married." Will stares at me, puzzled. "Norrington and Elizabeth," I add. "He proposed right before Elizabeth fell off the battlements. And she sent me with a letter for him to the fort that evening. She accepted."

I feel even more awkward after sharing this. My story couldn't have been more random. But Will goes along with it, bless him.

"I'm happy for them," he comments. "When will they – Did you just say that you were running for the fort with a _love letter_ when pirates could have killed you?" Hes absolutely stunned, and I laugh at his disbelief.

"In a matter of speaking, yes, I was. But I left before the _Black Pearl _attacked. And anyway, it turns out that I was safer out there than in my own house. I could have been taken, too."

"And then I really would have been furious," Will adds with a smile.

"What? You weren't furious when Elizabeth was gone?" I'm flabbergast. I remember Will shouting and slamming his hatchet into the table.

Will laughs a bit. "No. I was just mad."

"Then I never want you to be absolutely furious at me," I comment absently.

But Will's face darkens. "I very nearly – Isabella, please forgive me. I was out of control, and without valid reason. I just thought –"

He doesn't get the chance to explain because Elizabeth shouts for us from deck.

We immediately rush up. The _Black Pearl _is catching up to us. Our crew stops throwing things overboard, which Elizabeth explains was in an attempt to lighten the ship.

Will surveys the situation and shouts to Gibbs, "We have to make a stand! We must fight! Load the guns!"

"With what?" Anamaria says, bringing up the fact that we just threw everything useful into the sea.

"Anything! Everything! Anything we have left."

Gibbs orders, "Load the guns! Take shot and langrage! Nails and crushed glass! With a will!" The crew begins to obey. Gibbs looks out at the pursuing ship. "The _Pearl _is going to luff up on our port quarter. She'll rake us without ever presenting a target!"

I don't know what any of this means, but apparently Elizabeth does because she suggests, "Lower the anchor on the right side. On the starboard side!" She sees my amazed expression and adds, "I'm going to marry a naval officer," in explanation.

Will agrees with her idea. "It certainly has the element of surprise."

"You're daft, lady," Anamaria responds. "You both are!"

Gibbs grins at this. "Daft like Jack! Lower the starboard anchor!" he yells to the crew. "Do it, ye dogs, or its you we'll load into the cannons!"

The anchor is lowered and the _Interceptor_ spins around. "Fire all!" yells my sister, and I wonder again at her knowledge of naval battles. I suppose she's talked to Norrington more than I thought.

The two ships start firing their cannons, and I fear that our forks and knives will be no match for proper cannonballs.

I'm hiding behind the railing with Will and Elizabeth. Will showed me quickly how to fire the rifle that I'm now holding. I shoot out at the other pirates.

"We could use a few more ideas, lass," Gibbs comments, coming up to us.

"Your turn," Elizabeth responds.

"We need us a devil's dowry."

"We'll give them her," Anamaria suggests, holding her pistol against Elizabeths head.

"They don't want _her_," I snap at the pirate.

"The medallion," Elizabeth gasps when she realizes that none of us has it. Will immediately goes below deck to search for it.

The crew of the _Black Pearl_ starts swinging across the water to board the _Interceptor_. I stop firing the rifle and I start using it as a club. I whack away at the pirates coming at me. Elizabeth and I are facing outwards from each other so we can protect ourselves from all sides.

I hit a pirate over the head with my rifle and he falls to the deck. Behind me, I think I hear a very familiar voice. I spin around to find Jack Sparrow there, saying to Elizabeth, "Where's the medallion?"

"Will's searching for it," she answers.

"Will!" I exclaim, having momentarily forgotten about him in my own struggle. I ignore Jack completely and run to the grate that leads down below deck. Will is there, trying to push it open. A mast has fallen on top of the grate.

Will sees me. "Isabella! Help me! I'm trapped!"

I try to pull on the grate, and then I try to push the huge wooden mast, but I cant.

"Will, I can't move the mast. It's too heavy!" I cry.

Hands grab me from behind. I twist my head to see two pirates from the _Pearl_.

"No! Leave me alone!" I yell at them.

Will echoes me. "Leave her alone! Let her go!"

But the pirates pull me away, even as I shriek, "Will!"

"Isabella!"

* * *

I'm tied to the mast of the _Black Pearl _with Elizabeth, Jack and the crew of the _Interceptor_. A pirate walks along our line and says, "If any of you as much as thinks the word parley, I'll have your guts for garters."

And across the expanse of water is the _Interceptor_, where Will is trapped.

It explodes.

Elizabeth wiggles free from the rope and runs at Barbossa. "You've got to stop it! Stop it!"

Taking advantage of the loosened rope, I run to the railing and cry out. "Will!"

Of course, I receive no answer, and my knees give our. I kneel there, crying, as Barbossa responds to Elizabeth's attack.

"Welcome back, Miss. You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favor."

He pushes her into the crew's waiting arms. I don't have the strength to protest, even though I know I should. Barbossa comes up to me.

"Another fine young lady. Looks like a sister." He grabs my arm and pulls me up. I don't fight. "You can join her."

Hes about to push me into the crew, too, when I hear, "Barbossa!"

Will. Barbossa's grip falls and I turn around. Will is standing there on deck with a pistol aimed at Barbossa.

"She goes free."

Barbossa doesn't look in the least bit afraid. "What's in your head, boy?"

"She goes free!" Will repeats.

Barbossa laughs. "You've only got one shot, and we can't die."

I hear Jack say to Will, "Don't do anything stupid."

But Will doesn't listen. "You can't," he says to Barbossa. He stands up on the railing and points the pistol at himself. "I can."

"Like that," Jack mutters.

"No, Will!" I plead with him. He ignores me.

"Who are you?" Barbossa asks.

Jack steps out of the rope and comes up to Barbossa. "No one. He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew twice removed. Lovely singing voice, though – eunuch."

"My name is Will Turner," Will announces, and Jack goes back to the crew in defeat. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs in my veins." It seems Will has accepted that his father was a pirate.

A pirate cries out, "He's the spittin' image of ol' Bootstrap Bill come back to haunt us!" There are murmurs among their crew.

"On my word do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' Locker."

"Name your terms, Mr Turner," Barbossa says.

"Isabella goes free," Will immediately responds.

Barbossa chuckles. "Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

"Elizabeth is to go free as well. And the crew, the crew are not to be harmed."

"Agreed."

Will is taken down from the railing and watched by two pirates who tie his hands together behind his back. Elizabeth, Jack, and I are also held by pirates. We sail for about an hour before Barbossa calls for the crew to drop anchor. I am very worried about this.

Barbossa announces, "You may walk the plank first, Miss Turner."

And Elizabeth is pushed toward the plank. Will erupts.

"Barbossa, you lying bastard! You swore they'd go free!"

Barbossa turns to Will with a hard look. "Don't dare impugn me honor, boy. I agreed they'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where."

Will is gagged and pushed behind Barbossa.

"Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it lads?" Barbossa comments. "So I'll be having that dress back before you go."

Elizabeth, already on the plank, unties the laces in the front of the dress and steps out of the purple gown. She throws it at Barbossa saying, "It goes with your black heart." Somehow, my sister manages to maintain her dignity even when she's in a shift on the end of a plank.

"Off you go!" a pirate yells.

"Too long!" says another, who shakes the plank, causing Elizabeth to fall into the sea.

"You next, Miss," Barbossa says to me. A pirate grabs me and pushes me towards the plank. I step onto the shaky piece of wood. I can hardly breathe, I'm so frightened. I'm not a very strong swimmer like Elizabeth is, and this dress will be heavy enough to drown me once it's wet.

"Go on, Miss. Join your sister," Barbossa calls.

I turn around to look at him. And I see Will behind him, his eyes wide and afraid for me. His eyes plead for forgiveness. And I have an idea.

"Wait," I call to Barbossa.

"I don't think you're in a position to ask for any favors, Miss," he responds.

"But my dress, it's so heavy that it'll pull me down and I'll never reach the island. Just let me come back on deck to remove it." I am desperately trying to convince him that I need to do this.

"You can do so right where you are."

"The ties are in the back and I can't reach them," I plead.

Barbossa pauses. "Very well, then." He says to the crew, "Let her come back on deck for a moment."

I gratefully return to the deck and say to Jack, "Will you untie this for me?" I turn my back to him.

I feel his fingers begin to loosen the laces and he whispers into my ear, "You could have reached these strings yourself, Isabella."

"I know," I whisper back. I take the dress off. I feel very exposed in my white shift, but I'm not jumping into the water. Not yet.

Before the pirates can force me back onto the plank, I slip past Barbossa to Will. I pull off his gag and whisper, "I forgive you, Will." I forgive him for being furious at me and I forgive him for putting me in this situation by accident. And then I kiss him. He responds immediately. It is brief. Passionate and desperate, but brief. I don't know if I'll ever have the opportunity to kiss him again.

But Barbossa pulls me back and pushes me to the plank. "How touching." Maybe he plans to say more, but I don't hear because I step off the plank.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Thanks to my reviewers! Your comments inspire me to continue this story! So keep reviewing!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**A Marooned Trio and a Rum Bonfire**

**

* * *

**

I hit the water. The warm Caribbean Sea engulfs me and I sink down a ways. Then my mind tells me to swim, so I kick my legs and move my arms until I break the surface. I do my best to wipe the salt water from my eyes.

I see Elizabeth swimming ahead of me, and even though I'm thinking 'What's the point?' I swim towards her. I hear a splash behind me and I spin around in the water. Jack surfaces in front of me.

"We've got some sort of luck, eh, lass?" he asks with slightly amused sarcasm. He's holding his effects in his hands and he's swimming towards me. Even as I swim toward the island, Jack passes me, asking, "What's the matter, love?"

"I'm not a very strong swimmer," I answer sullenly. "My arms are burning. It'd be easier to just stop. What's the point, anyway? We're going to die no matter – "

"Now, none of that," Jack reprimands. "Hold on to me and keep kicking."

* * *

"That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship," Jack says, annoyance in every word.

The three of us stand on the beach, watching the _Black Pearl_ leave us far behind. Jack abruptly spins on his heel and starts striding across the island. Elizabeth immediately follows, and I eventually do too, though not as fast.

"But you were marooned on this island before, weren't you? So we can escape in the same way you did then," Elizabeth urges.

Jack spins around. "To what point and purpose, young missy? The _Black Pearl_ is gone, and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice – unlikely – young Mr Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."

That said, Jack turns again and begins tapping his knuckles against tree trunks. Elizabeth looks at him as if she's questioning his sanity, but I've spent enough time with Jack to know that he is, in fact, slightly insane. No questions about it.

Then Elizabeth regains her momentum. "But you're Captain Jack Sparrow! You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company. You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a shot. Are you the pirate I've read about or not?" How does my dear sister know so much about pirates? About Jack? Now she faces him as he finishes jumping up and down on a bit of sand. "How did you escape last time?"

Jack actually looks absolutely serious and honest when he explains. "Last time I was here a grand total of three days, all right? Last time –" he opens a secret door under the sand, revealing a cellar which he enters "– the rumrunners used this island as a cache. Came by, and I was able to barter a passage off. From the look of things, they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that." He emerges with three bottles of rum, handing one to Elizabeth. He offers another to me but I refuse.

"Weak stomach, remember?"

He grins at me and takes the bottle for himself.

I can't help but say, "Well, at least I know one way to get off this island."

"What's that, love?" he asks, smiling. He knows I'm joking.

I grin back at him. "We can rope a couple of sea turtles."

Jack laughs and throws his arm around my shoulders. He starts maneuvering me towards the beach again. I look back at Elizabeth, who apparently thinks _I'm_ crazy now. Oh well. I'll have to tell her _that_ story someday.

Plopping down on the sand, Jack removes his arm from my shoulders and opens his bottle of rum. Elizabeth joins us soon after. The sun is setting and it's growing darker. It's almost peaceful here.

And I have to ask. I have to make sure.

"Jack, you _weren't_ going to give up Will to Barbossa in return for the _Pearl_, right?"

The serious face comes back. "Of course not, Isabella."

"Well, he thinks you were going to. He said you called him 'leverage.'" I look down at my hands.

"I was. But I wasn't going to hand him over. The knowledge of who he was – his name – would have been enough."

Jack looks over at me. I don't answer him. I did, after all, defend him. But there was some doubt…

"Isabella, look at me." I do so. Jack's face is completely honest. "I would not hurt the boy or put him in unnecessary danger. I owe that to Bootstrap, at least. And, well, in some strange way, Will has become a sort-of-friend." I laugh a little at Jack's reluctance to admit it. "And anyway," he says, reverting back to his normal self – as normal as it _can _be. "Why would I take so much time to convince you that he cares for if I was going to send him to his death?"

"Oh, Jack. I'm sorry for having the smallest doubt," I say.

"You're friends, aren't you?" Elizabeth asks, slightly incredulous.

I look over at Jack and answer, "Yes, I suppose we are, of sorts."

Though Elizabeth doesn't look too pleased that her little sister has become friends with a pirate, she has a bigger question for me.

"How did you get out here, Isabella? You should be in Port Royal…"

I laugh and tell her the story of my accidental adventure with pirates. I fill her in on everything that has happened, but I leave out everything to do with Will, such as the kisses in our cabin and before I walked the plank. But Jack betrays me, grinning all the while.

"That was some kiss, by the way. I don't think I've ever seen Will so shocked."

My cheeks burn with embarrassment, even though I'm only with Jack and Elizabeth and no one else in a thousand-meter radius (and more).

"What?!" Elizabeth exclaims. "You kissed Will?"

Before I can answer, Jack cuts in. "Twice."

"Isabella! Why didn't you tell me?" Elizabeth demands.

"When would I have?" I throw back.

"Oh, right," she deflates. "Well, now we're on a deserted island with nothing else to do except discuss your love life. You don't mind do you, Mr. Sparrow?"

I cut him off this time with a wicked grin. "Oh, he doesn't. He's really just a girl at heart."

Jack glares at me ferociously. "That's not true. I am just very tolerant."

I laugh but I allow Elizabeth to interrogate me with no more Jack-bashing. I don't know why I let her. Probably because we really don't have anything better to do and partially because I know I can't escape it.

I tell Elizabeth about my Will moments now and Jack only occasionally pops in with a comment or detail.

"You kissed him before you walked the plank? That's so romantic. It's like in the stories, when one is about to go to their death," Elizabeth gushes.

"Oh, sure, _real _romantic," I say sarcastically. "Elizabeth, I probably _won't_ see Will again! We'll _both_ die!"

Elizabeth immediately drops her fantasizing expression. "I'm sorry, Isabella. But I do envy you for it. You at least got to kiss him. I'll die without ever having kissed James!"

I laugh bitterly. "What a fine mess we're in. And you were supposed to marry him, too! Now Norrington will die of a broken heart, like Romeo." I'm half-joking. But I know that the Commodore would be devastated if his fiancée died.

"Norrington?!" Jack yelps. "You're engaged to Norrington?! Why would you _want_ to marry that –"

"Now, Jack, no insulting my sister's fiancé," I say warningly, but I'm laughing.

Jack grins and stands up. "I'm off to get some more rum." He leaves us and now that I'm alone with my sister, I bring up a question I've been eager to ask.

"Why did you say your name was Elizabeth _Turner_?"

Elizabeth sighs. "I know what you're thinking, Isabella, but you must know that I care for Will as a friend – no more. James is the man I love. I couldn't give my own name because I thought the pirates would try to ransom me if they knew I was the governor's daughter. And I couldn't say my name was Norrington either. That name is known as the name of a navy officer throughout the Caribbean. It would have been dangerous to claim I was a Norrington. Will was the first person who popped into my mind because we had just been talking about him. And anyway, Turner is a common name. I couldn't use the name of any rich family in Port Royal. They wouldn't have let me go. In the end they kept me on board anyway, but I didn't know that at the time. Do you believe me, Isabella?"

"Yes, I do," I answer honestly. Elizabeth and Will have removed any doubts I had about them. Elizabeth never loved Will and Will never loved Elizabeth. He loves _me_.

* * *

"We're devils and black sheep and really bad eggs. Drink up me 'earties yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"

Jack and Elizabeth are completely drunk. I got thirsty after a while on that island, so I've been sipping some rum and I have been surprisingly successful at keeping it down. While my two companions dance around the fire, I sit quietly by the water, hoping that we'll be rescued. So far, our prospects don't seem too good.

Soon, Jack and Elizabeth collapse next to me.

"I love this song! Really bad eggs! When I get the _Pearl_ back, I'm gonna teachit to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!" Jack exclaims.

"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main," Elizabeth says.

"And the most drunk," I snort in response.

"Not just the Spanish Main, love," Jack continues, ignoring me. "The entire ocean, the entire world. Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That's what a ship needs, but what a ship _is_ – what the _Black Pearl_ really is – is freedom."

Jack is amazingly philosophical when drunk, I note to myself.

"Jack, it must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island," Elizabeth remarks, leaning against the pirate.

"Oh yes," Jack agrees, putting his arm around her. "But the company is infinitely better than last time, I think. The scenery has definitely improved."

As the only somber person on this island, I have taken it upon myself to make sure that no one does anything he (or she) will regret once we've been rescued. Which is why I cannot allow Jack to flirt with my engaged sister when she's drunk.

"Jack," I warn him, removing his arm from Elizabeth's shoulders.

She seems to approve of my actions because she pulls away from Jack and tells him, "Mr. Sparrow, I'm not entirely sure that I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk."

Jack isn't bothered at all by us and our proper ways. "I know exactly what you mean, love." He curls his moustache and takes up his bottle of rum.

"To freedom," Elizabeth toasts.

"To the _Black Pearl_," Jack corrects, swallowing the rest of his rum. He falls to the sand, unconscious.

Elizabeth turns to me and says, "I had a plan, Isabella." She cocks her head to the side, as if trying to remember. "What was it? Rum…rum and fire." Then she, too, loses consciousness.

Rum and fire? Maybe she means setting the rum on fire. But then it would explode…Exactly.

"To rum!" I toast to myself.

* * *

When I wake up the next morning, Elizabeth and Jack are still asleep. Knowing that Jack would not agree to burning the rum, I let him sleep. But I shake my sister awake. She groans, turning over on the sand.

"Elizabeth, please wake up!" I urge.

She sleepily opens her eyes. "Isabella? Where am – Ow, my head hurts!"

"You drank too much last night," I tell her, helping her stand up. "You told me you planned to set fire to the rum to make a signal."

"What? Oh! Yes, I did." She takes my hand and we walk back to the open cellar.

I climb down and start handing the bottles and barrels of rum to Elizabeth, who sets them down next to the trapdoor.

"Is that it?"

"Yes, here's the last one," I respond, tossing the bottle up to my sister. I climb out of the cellar and we begin the irritating task of moving the rum to the spot that Elizabeth selected. We bring the first few barrels to the chosen spot. Then we have to get some regular wood, which we take from the pile we gathered the day before for the campfire.

Elizabeth sets to the task of setting a fire to a piece of wood, which we then throw into the pile of wood and rum. After the first big explosion, Elizabeth and I take turns tossing barrels of rum into the fire.

Surprisingly, Jack sleeps through the first few blasts. But when he does wake up, he immediately comes running towards us, yelling, "No! Not good! Stop! Not good! What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade, the rum!"

I laugh at his panic while my sister answers very calmly, "Yes, the rum is gone."

"Sorry, Jack," I add.

"Why is the rum gone?" he demands.

Elizabeth rounds on him. "One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels."

"You were drinking it, too, Elizabeth," I point out, only to be ignored again.

"Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me and Isabella. Do you really think there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?"

Jack stares at her for a moment. "But why is the rum gone?" he explodes.

Elizabeth sits down on the beach, facing the ocean. "Just wait, Captain Sparrow. You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on that horizon."

Jack pulls out his pistol and means to aim it at Elizabeth, but before I can even open my mouth to protest, he has stuffed it back into his belt and stalked off to whine to himself.

I join Elizabeth on the sand, and we watch for a navy ship to appear in the distance.

* * *

Roughly an hour later – or what feels like an hour later – I catch sight of sails. By the time the ship is close enough for me to tell that it is the _Dauntless_, Jack has returned to us and is laying down, staring at the sky.

Lieutenant Groves is one of the people coming to get us in their rowboats. He steps out of the boat and exclaims, "I am so relieved to see you both alive, Miss Swann, Miss Isabella! The Governor and Commodore Norrington have been extremely worried about you."

"We are grateful that you have found us," Elizabeth replies, acting like the proper lady she has (almost) always been. Groves helps her into a rowboat and turns to me.

"May I offer my assistance, Miss Isabella?"

I smile at the Lieutenant, whose twinkling eyes tell me that he knows I am perfectly able to get into the boat by myself. Nevertheless, I accept because that's what a young lady is supposed to do.

The navy soldiers in our boat start to row out to the ship. Looking back, I see Jack getting into the other boat while Groves speaks to him, probably about all of his crimes and how he will be hanged for them. I feel pity for the pirate. He's done nothing but help us (for the most part) and now he will die because he got involved.

"Are you alright?" Elizabeth asks.

I force a smile. "Yes, I'm fine. We're saved, Elizabeth. It's just, I'm worried about Will. I wish there was something we could do to help him."

"There is," Elizabeth says firmly. "We are going to convince Father and James that we have to save him. And we will save him, Isabella. I couldn't bear to see you unhappy for the rest of your life."


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: I wasn't planning on updating until Friday, but I decided to write this today to show all my reviewers how much I appreciate them! So keep those reviews coming and I'll finish chapter 10 for next weekend!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates.

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

**An Overdue Favor and an Unbreakable Code**

**

* * *

**

"Elizabeth! Isabella!" I hear immediately after climbing up on deck. My father hugs us both tightly. "I was so worried for my girls! In the hands of pirates! Thank goodness you're both safe!"

He lets us go and steps back, almost stumbling when he notices what we're wearing – or rather, what we're not wearing.

"Girls! What happened to your dresses?" he asks, astonished.

"We would have drowned in the sea, Father," I answer when my sister says nothing. I note that she is gazing at Commodore Norrington, who is walking towards us from the helm. "Or have you forgotten how Elizabeth almost drowned because of the weight of her dress?"

Father doesn't respond to my rather impertinent remark, choosing instead to shrug off his coat and wrap it around Elizabeth while ordering Lieutenant Groves to lend me his coat. As I accept it, I watch my sister politely greet the Commodore.

"I am so pleased to see you alive and well," he informs her with an almost shy smile. He looks at me. "Miss Isabella, please allow me to apologize being at fault for your –"

"No, Commodore," I interrupt. "It was not your fault. No one could have known what would happen. I could not think of blaming you."

He smiles grimly before turning to Jack, who is being guarded by Murtogg and Mullroy. "Gentlemen, please escort Mr. Sparrow to the brigg. I'm afraid he is late to his hanging in Port Royal."

"We're going home?" I interject, panicked that we can't save Will.

"Of course, Isabella. Where did you think we were going?" my father asks, laughing.

"But we've got to save Will!" Elizabeth argues, snapping out of her love-stuck staring.

"No, you're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates!" he exclaims in return.

"Then we condemn him to death," Elizabeth retorts.

Father sighs. "The boy's fate is regrettable, but then so was his decision to engage in piracy."

"But, Father –" I start, only to be cut off by Elizabeth, who has apparently taken her promises to reunite me with Will very seriously. I suppose that, after all of the times I've argued in her place, she has decided to return the favor.

"To rescue me! To prevent anything from happening to me!" she cries vehemently.

Jack, too, steps in. "If I may be so bold as to inject my professional opinion. The _Pearl_ was listing near to scuppers after the battle. It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time. Think about it. The _Black Pearl_. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?"

"By remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself," the Commodore answers.

"But getting rid of Barbossa and his crew _would_ be helping others," I speak up. "Every port in the Caribbean is in danger because of the _Black Pearl_. Please, Commodore, if not for us, then for the people you serve."

Norrington does seem to soften at my words. And he loses all of his sternness when Elizabeth pleads, "Commodore, I beg you, please do this. For me. As a wedding gift."

My father looks absolutely shocked, as if he wasn't expecting Elizabeth to consent to marry Norrington. "Elizabeth, are you accepting the Commodore's proposal?"

"I am," my sister replies, looking at Norrington with a soft smile. He knows she already accepted and that she's not doing so just to save Will.

Of course, Jack has to ruin their touching moment (most likely on purpose) by exclaiming, "A wedding! I love weddings! Drinks all around!" As we stare at him – Elizabeth and Father incredulously, Norrington exasperatedly, and I with a smile – he adds, extending his arms, "I know. Clap him in irons, right?"

Norrington makes his decision. "Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearings to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase: silent as the grave. Do I make myself clear?"

I feel a bit sorry for Jack when he has no choice but to reply, "Inescapably clear."

Norrington nods to Murtogg and Mullroy and they escort Jack to the helm. The Commodore takes Elizabeth aside for a few minutes while the navy gets to work and Father speaks to me.

"Commodore Norrington is a fine match for Elizabeth, don't you think?"

"Yes, Father. And, of course, they care for each other a great deal," I respond, watching my sister and her fiance at the railing.

"The Commodore explained to me that you were on board the _Interceptor_ when the ship set sail after Sparrow on the _Dauntless_ and that is was a complete accident that you were involved at all," he says, waiting for confirmation.

"That's right," I affirm. I choose not to add that I don't regret it one bit, as I know my father would think I am traumatized from the experience and that I have no idea what I'm saying.

"Well, I'm just glad you're safe," he says, and then glances at my state of dress again. "We'd better get you and Elizabeth into some different clothes."

* * *

"I have to tell him! The pirates! They're cursed! They cannot be killed!" Elizabeth yells, dressed in an soldier's uniform, as Gillette and another soldier drag her into the Commodore's cabin.

Lieutenant Gillette laughs, clearly not believing it. "Don't worry, miss, he's already informed of that. A little mermaid flopped up on deck and told him the whole story."

He shuts the doors and locks them, and I hear my sister banging against them, yelling, "This is Jack Sparrow's doing!"

"Cursed pirates?" Lieutenant Groves asks, leaning against the railing next to me. I am also wearing uniform trousers, shirt, and jacket. "Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?"

"No," I say. "You wouldn't believe me if I tried telling you_ that_." I take a deep breath. "I asked to talk to you because you owe me a favor."

"Yes, I do," he answers. "But if you're going to ask me to let you stay out here instead of in the cabin, then I cannot help you. Commodore's orders."

"I wasn't planning on that – at least, not exactly that. I need you to lower a dinghy into the water," I spit out quickly.

"Why?" Lieutenant Groves asks suspiciously. "Do you intend to use it?"

"Of course, Lieutenant," I answer with a confident smile (even though I don't feel particularly confident that this plan will work). "I am going to rescue Will."

"Miss Swann –"

"Lieutenant Groves, _please_. Will has kept me safe for so long on this very dangerous adventure. He gave himself up so Elizabeth and I could escape. I won't let him die!"

The lieutenant ponders this for a moment. "He is your friend, then, Miss Swann?"

"Yes," I answer, swallowing hard.

"Perhaps I may accidentally cut the ropes to a rowboat," Groves replies with a reluctant smile. "So long as I do not lose my job for this."

"I will take full responsibility if necessary," I assure him.

"When shall I lower it?"

"About ten minutes after Commodore Norrington leaves with most of the men," I respond, having already thought this out.

"Then you'd better get into the cabin."

"Yes, sir." I mock-salute the lieutenant and receive a smile. I don't put up a fight like Elizabeth did as Groves locks the door behind me.

Elizabeth is sitting by the window, looking down at the water. She turns towards the door as I enter.

"How are we to save Will now?" she asks. "We're locked in and I'm not sure we can swim all the way to the _Black Pearl_ to free the crew from the _Interceptor_."

"Don't worry," I say, as I grab sheets from the bed and closet and start tying them into a makeshift rope. "I have a plan."

* * *

"Hurry, Elizabeth," I whisper loudly towards the window where my sister is still climbing out.

"Father's by the door," she quietly responds, descending the rope towards the boat that I rowed to the spot under the window. As soon as she reaches the boat, I start rowing towards the _Black Pearl_.

Then we both climb up the side of the ship, only to be confronted with a skeleton monkey. I open my mouth to scream – I still haven't seen any of the cursed pirates in the moonlight – but Elizabeth covers my mouth with her hand just in time. She grabs the monkey quickly and throws him over the side of the ship. We hear a clunk and look down to see that the monkey hit a cannon. The heads of two pirates appear below us from a window, but just before they look up, Elizabeth grabs my arm and pulls me away. She drags me down the stairs to the brig, where Jack's crew is being held captive.

"Elizabeth! Isabella!" Gibbs calls from a cell. I take the keys from the wall and unlock the cell door.

"There's still two pirates aboard, on deck," I warn as we creep up the steps to the deck. We find them against the railing. Elizabeth has the idea to swing a dinghy to knock them (in pieces, since they're skeletons) overboard.

"All of you with me," Elizabeth calls, grabbing a rope. "Will is in that cave and we must save him. Ready? And heave!" Only Elizabeth and I pull. We turn to look at the crew.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Please, I need your help! Come on!" Elizabeth adds.

Cotton's parrot squawks, "Any port in the storm."

"Cotton's right, we've got the _Pearl_," Gibbs says, although I'm sure he has no idea what the parrot said either.

"And Jack?" I demand. "You're going to leave without him?"

The midget sailor responds, "Jack owes us a ship."

Gibbs adds, "And there's the Code to consider."

"The Code? You're going to leave your friend and captain to die because of the _Code_?" I nearly shriek.

"You're pirates," Elizabeth reasons. "Hang the Code, and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines anyway!"

The crew stares at us without saying anything, and I finally grow tired of waiting, so I say, "Fine! Come, Elizabeth." We climb down to the boat again and row to the island.

"I'm slightly surprised that you're so rebellious, Elizabeth," I comment while I row. "I thought you live by rules."

"I don't; I just follow the rules. But there are always exceptions. I don't always like following the rules, but I must. It's the life that I was – we were – born into and the life that I've chosen to marry into," Elizabeth answers thoughtfully. Then anger appears on her face. "But I would break those rules for my friends. Bloody pirates! They haven't a care for anyone but themselves!"

We get out of the boat and drag it up to the bank. I hear swordfighting somewhere deeper in the cave. "We'd better hurry. Who knows what Sparrow has done here," my sister comments.

As we run to the main cavern, I argue, "Jack has probably saved Will already. He's on our side, remember?"

"No, he's on your side, Isabella, and on Will's. Most certainly not mine." She grabs a long staff from a pile of treasure. "Find yourself a weapon!" Then she runs to where Will is lying down and a pirate is standing above him. She knocks him in the head.

I take in the scene before me. Jack is fighting Barbossa, and I can see three pirates from the _Black Pearl_. I glance at Jack again, only to see a skeleton. I gasp involuntarily. When did that happen?

"Isabella!" I hear Will call. I run to his side and take the sword he offers me (no doubt from one of the pirates). Will turns to pursue one of the pirates, but I stop him by grabbing his arm. He may be able to wait to reunite properly, but I cannot.

"Will, I thought I'd never see you again," I say, for lack of anything better.

His smile warms my heart. "No, I'll never die on you." He takes my hand and kisses it, then leaves my side to fight two pirates who are trying to catch Elizabeth.

The third pirate appears in front of me and I raise my sword to fight the unarmed pirate. But because he can't die, he uses his arms to block my blows and I realize belatedly that I have no clue how to use a sword, or any weapon. The pirate laughs when he manages to grab my sword from me. I stare in horror as the weapon whistles through the air toward me.

Will, once again, comes to my rescue and blocks the attack. "What am I going to do with you, Isabella?" he asks, his voice filled with affection. I reckon he doesn't mind saving me too much. After all, Jack did say he has a hero complex.

Will and Elizabeth run the staff through the three pirates, stringing them together. I notice a lighted grenade on the ground and I pick it up, placing it within the skeletal frame of the middle pirate. Then we push the pirates out of the moonlight and run away as they explode.

I see Will running for the chest of Aztec gold and I follow. Jack cuts his palm, presses his medallion against the blood, and tosses it to Will. I hear the click of a pistol and I freeze when I notice that it is pointed at me. From the corner of my eye, I see Jack aim his pistol at Barbossa and I hear two shots ring out.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: I meant to get this up a week ago, but I was so busy with Christmas and New Years! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. And Happy New Year! And as always, thank you to my reviewers. You guys are amazing! The next chapter will be the last (I'm pretty sure) and I will try to get that up before long._

_Disclaimer: I do not own _Pirates of the Caribbean.

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

**An Understanding Isabella and an Unsuccessful Hanging**

**

* * *

**

I scream.

I scream because I hear the gunshots. I scream because I see Will on top of the treasure pile, hand bleeding and terrified expression on his face. I scream because Elizabeth has grabbed my arm and yanked me down from my spot halfway up the mound of treasure. I scream because my white navy uniform trousers have a growing red stain. I scream because I've been shot.

Elizabeth and I lay sprawled at the bottom of the treasure. I claw at my injured leg, but my sister stops my hands.

"Hold on, Isabella. Don't make it worse."

It doesn't really hurt all that much, though I'm sure it will start soon. I'm in too much shock to register the pain. But knowing that there's nothing I can do to help myself right now, I try to pull my mind together enough to pay attention to what is happening around me.

"Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot," Barbossa says, mockery in his voice.

My addled mind suddenly notices that Jack shot Barbossa, too. I cry out incoherently as I realize that Jack's revenge was in vain. Captain Barbossa is cursed. He cannot be killed.

"He didn't waste it," Will speaks out, words laced with worry, but defiant nonetheless. He drops two pirate medallions – his father's and Jack's – into the chest.

Barbossa wordlessly tears open his jacket to see the spreading blood from the bullet wound. My ears are ringing and I can't hear his last words before he falls backwards into a pile of gold and jewels.

I see Will slide down the treasure and his lips are moving but I can't hear anything and then Jack is kneeling by me and tying his weird sash around my wounded leg tightly and it hurts and I open my mouth to scream but I don't know if anything comes out and then…

* * *

"...could have been killed."

"But we weren't!"

"Elizabeth, I know you felt you were in Mr. Turner's debt, but running off like that was simply irresponsible. I knew Isabella can be reckless sometimes, but I would have expected you to restrain her, not follow her!"

"Forgive me, Father, but did you expect us to let Will die? After all he's done for me and for Isabella! We _are_ in his debt!"

"Governor Swann! She's waking up," Commodore Norrington proclaims from my bedside the moment my eyes flutter open. Both my father and my sister hurry to my side. Norrington hastily excuses himself, claiming that he must return to his duties and that he has much to do before we reach Port Royal.

"Did I faint? How long have I been unconscious?" I ask immediately.

"You didn't faint," Elizabeth answers somewhat guiltily. "I knocked you out with a piece of treasure so you wouldn't have to feel the pain. You've been unconscious for only a few hours."

"How did it all end?"

"The pirates from the _Black Pearl_ are either dead or locked in the brig. Jack's crew left on the _Pearl_ and abandoned Jack here, who is now also in the brig. They will all be hanged when we get to Port Royal." She says it all very matter-of-factly, but I know she disapproves of hanging Jack after (and as a result of) all that he has done for us. Of course, neither of us will say so in front of our law-abiding father.

I weakly push myself into a sitting position. I wince as the bullet wound aches.

"Are you hurting, Isabella?" my father asks with concern.

"I'll be fine, Father," I respond. "But I would very much like to see Jack."

"Absolutely not, my dear! You've already spent far too much time in that pirate's company!" he vehemently protests.

As I know I cannot get up – much less walk – yet, I give in without a fight. I'll attempt to find a way to see him before the _hanging_. I can barely bring myself to even think the word in connection to Jack.

"Well, then can I see Will?" I ask hopefully.

My father looks to be on the verge of denying this request as well (probably with the reasoning that it is improper) but Elizabeth pipes up.

"Oh, let him come! He's been pacing the deck since we got on board!"

"Very well," Father concedes. "But Elizabeth must remain here. After all, it's very –"

"Improper," my sister and I both interject. Our father gives us a slightly bewildered smile and leaves to tell Will that he may enter.

"Are you really alright, Isabella?" Elizabeth asks in the interim.

"Yes, I will be perfectly well, in time," I reassure her, even though my wound hurts. I look down at myself and notice that I'm still wearing a navy uniform, only I'm dressed in clean trousers over my bound leg. I also notice that, on the table next to the bed, lies Jack's sash, which he used as a makeshift bandage. I suppose Jack will want it back, or perhaps not. What use will it serve in death?

My thoughts are interrupted by a knock on the door. My sister calls, "Come in!" and Will steps through cautiously. "Don't be shy, Will! Oh, and close the door behind you. We don't need half the navy looking in on us, do we?" she adds with a friendly smile.

Will warily shuts the door and takes the seat by my bedside that my father just vacated.

"How are you feeling, Miss Swann?" he ventures to ask.

My elation at seeing Will (who is not at all hurt, save for the now-bandaged cut on his palm) immediately evaporates. My scowl causes Elizabeth to move to the other side of the small cabin. Whether this is to give us privacy or to prevent herself from witnessing the coming argument, I do not know, nor do I care.

"What did I say about calling me 'Miss Swann'?" I ask, irritated.

"I remember what you said, Miss Swann," he offers as an answer.

"Then tell me why you will not call me 'Isabella,'" I demand with a raised voice.

"I promised to address you by your given name until the whole affair was over," Will corrects. "Now it is done."

"No, you said until we reach Port Royal!" I argue.

"We are as good as there!" Will finally raises his voice as well. "Here, aboard the _Dauntless_, you are the Governor's daughter and I am simply a _blacksmith_." He utters the last word with a hint of bitterness.

It is that bitter edge to his voice that defeats me. I know – as I have always known, though I refused to acknowledge it – that Will doesn't _want_ it to be this way. He doesn't _want_ to call me "Miss Swann" and keep his distance. But he must, unless he wishes to face the disapproval of the town and, most importantly, my father. As a child, Will relied on the governor's generosity to find a home and suitable position. Now he relies on my father's kindness for a pardon for his illegal actions. And, if he so intends, Father's permission for him to marry me.

"Forgive me, Will," I say after my long deliberations. "I understand. I don't want to, but I do."

Will looks directly at me with his warm brown eyes and says, in a tone of voice that tells me that I am correct in my assumptions, "Thank you, Miss Swann."

A thought occurs to me. "Did my father pardon you? He must have, for you are not locked up."

"Yes, he did. He's a very generous man."

"It is no less than what you deserve."

"Perhaps. But all the same, I'm sure you had something to do with it." A smile grows on Will's face, even as I frown in confusion.

"I've been asleep –"

"You do not give your father enough credit. Your sister sees it, Jack sees it. Even I see it now. Surely Governor Swann would not be blind to the fancies of his daughters."

"A fancy? Is that what you think it is? I assure you, Will, that what I feel for you is far more than a fancy!" I reply defiantly. Will cannot and will not turn my love into something so whimsical.

"Really? Then what, pray tell, do you feel for me?" he asks, a playful grin on his face.

I respond in kind. "A lady must never be the one to confess it first."

Will laughs and sits back in his chair. Only then do I realize how much he's been leaning towards me. I fear I said something wrong. I half expected Will to tell me he loves me.

"Yes, that would be the proper thing to do. But do not worry, Miss Swann, for you shall have your chance to confess before too long. Now is not the time for that."

Will stands up from his seat and turns to leave. He thinks better of it, however, and returns to my side to pick up my hand.

"Goodbye, Miss Swann. For now."

He kisses the back of my hand and nods his head towards Elizabeth in acknowledgement before opening the door and disappearing out of sight.

"Don't say anything," I tell my sister, giving her a pointed glare.

"Who? Me? I didn't hear a word."

I don't believe her because the smirk playing on her lips tells me that she heard everything.

* * *

Jack's sash is patterned red, blue, orange, and green. I wonder where he found it. I'm holding it (now washed and clean) tightly in my left hand despite my father's numerous attempts to rid me of it. Well, he can try but he won't succeed. If Jack is to die today, I would like some part of him to remain. My right hand clutches a walking cane. My injured leg hinders my movement still, despite having a few days to recover. It will heal in time though. Elizabeth and I are both adorned in beautiful new dresses, corset and all. Pity, as I have grown quite fond of not wearing the breath-restricting things. Nevertheless, the whole town is here for the hanging of Captain Jack Sparrow, so we must look our part as daughters of the Governor. We stand with our father and the Commodore on a dais from which we can see everything.

"This is wrong," Elizabeth states, watching an official read off the long list of Jack's crimes.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law. As are we all," our father answers with some regret as he looks over at me. I see it from the corner of my eye, but I do not turn. I keep my eyes on Jack, who stands on the gallows, awaiting death. And there's nothing I can do for him.

I avert my gaze from Jack only when Will steps in front of us.

"Governor Swann. Commodore. Miss Swann. Isabella." His gaze finally rests on me. "I want you to know that I would marry you if I could."

He disappears into the crowd before I have the chance to respond. I don't understand. Why can't he marry me?

Elizabeth suddenly nudges my side. She discreetly points at a bird. "Is that Cotton's parrot, do you think?" she asks in a whisper so those around us can't hear. When I nod, she looks around the square, where Will is pushing people out of his way. Commodore Norrington seems about to arrests him when Elizabeth whispers, "Play along." Then she says out loud to the others, "I can't breathe," and falls backwards, pretending to faint.

"Elizabeth!" I cry, going along with my sister's ploy. My father immediately kneels at her side, as does the Commodore, who temporarily forgets the commotion Will is causing.

I watch as Will throws his sword into the wood below the trapdoor the moment Jack falls through. As Will fights the executioner, Jack balances on the sword.

Commodore Norrington is gone to stop him by now, and Father stands there, dumbstruck, for a moment before following. I lend Elizabeth a hand and pull her up from the ground.

"Thank you," she says.

"No, thank _you_," I amend. "You helped Will save Jack."

She shrugs and pulls me to the battlements, where Jack and Will are surrounded by soldiers.

"I thought we might have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt but not from you," Norrington finally speaks.

"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you clemency," my father adds. "And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lot with him? He's a pirate!"

"And a good man," Will defends. "If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. At least my conscience will be clear."

"You forget your place, Turner," Norrington pronounces.

"It's right here, between you and Jack."

I have never been more proud of Will, nor have I ever loved him more. Despite his obsession with doing what is expected of him, he will do whatever it takes to do what is right.

I walk forwards and stand beside Will. "And my place is beside Will," I announce to the shocked people around me. Elizabeth hesitates and then takes her place next to me.

"And mine is beside Isabella."

I take her hand, knowing how much courage it must take for her to public oppose the Commodore.

Our father orders, "Lower your weapons! For goodness' sake, put them down!"

Norrington looks crushed. "So this is where your heart truly lies, then?" he asks Elizabeth.

She shakes her head. "No. my heart is yours, as is my hand in marriage. But this is what is right."

Jack, who has somehow been able to stay silent through all of this, steps forward to say, "Well, I'm actually feeling rather good about this." He stops in front of the governor. "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually? Ecumenically? Grammatically?" Jack moves on to the Commodore. "I want you to know that I've been rooting for you all along." And to Elizabeth he declares, "Elizabeth, it would never have worked between us, darling. I'm sorry." As we puzzle over this, he turns to me. "Isabella, as much as I love you, lass, you would make a terrible pirate." I laugh, knowing this to be true, while Jack says one final goodbye. "Will, nice hat." Will's hat is, in fact, very stylish with a huge feather.

Jack backs away towards the edge of the battlement while saying dramatically, as is his tendency, "Friends! This is the day that you will always remember as the day –"

"Jack!" I cry, as I suddenly remember the sash I've been carrying. I walk to him to hand it over…the moment he falls backwards over the battlement. And as I'm still holding the sash as well, and I'm not as steady on my feet as I would be had I not an injured leg, he pulls me with him.


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Wow! Here's the last chapter! As always, thank you to my reviewers! And please read the longer author's note at the bottom for the full acknowledgements!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Pirates of the Caribbean_._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Eleven**

**A Happy Ending and a New Beginning**

**

* * *

**

"One would assume you've learned nothing! A Swann, a heavy dress, and the Caribbean…usually ends with almost drowning," I berate Jack as I wring out my under dress.

"Sorry," Jack responds, grinning wickedly and in no way apologetic. "But I did save you."

"After ripping off my dress!"

"I had to, Isabella." He is irritatingly calm, standing there on the docks while I'm dressed in nothing but my under things. "Well, I really must be on my way. Norrington will be after me soon enough."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"Of course, but perhaps not for a while. Goodbye, Isabella."

Jack dives into the sea and swims towards a ship I didn't notice before. The _Black Pearl_. They came! Jack's crew came back for him!

"Goodbye, Jack!" I yell as he resurfaces. "And good luck! Don't get caught!"

"Isabella!"

I turn around to see a pack of soldiers, as well as my family, coming up to the dock where I'm standing. It was my father who called to me, but it is Elizabeth who reaches me first. She doesn't hug me (she's probably worried about getting her dress wet), choosing to put her hands on my shoulders instead.

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"

I smile and assure her that I'm fine.

"What happened to your dress?" my father asks.

"It's somewhere at the bottom of the Caribbean," I answer, not sure whether I should frown or laugh. I settle for a sheepish smile.

A weight falls across my shoulders. I reach for the fabric and find my fingers enclosed around Will's red cloak. Looking up, I see Will smiling down at me.

"Thank you," I say shyly, which is strange because between Will and I, I'm the one who is never afraid to say how I feel. But now there are so many people here, and I feel as if they're intruding on our private moment.

"Mr. Turner," Commodore Norrington interrupts, walking towards us. Lieutenants Gillette and Groves flank him, and I think to myself that the Commodore has never looked more like a navy officer.

Will steps forward, saying to us, "I will accept the consequences of my actions."

The Commodore and his two lieutenants stop directly in front of Will. They can't mean to punish him now! Not when I'm so close to finally having him! I boldly take a step forward to stand beside Will. From the corner of my eye I see my father reach out his hand, but Elizabeth holds him back.

Norrington starts at my clear show of support, but he speaks calmly and plainly. "You have broken the law, Mr. Turner, as I know you are well aware. However, you have shown loyalty to your friends – an admirable quality, and one I will expect you to show in every aspect of your life." He glances at me briefly before turning to leave. Lieutenant Groves smiles at us both, but Lieutenant Gillette asks after Jack.

"Commodore, what about Sparrow?"

"Well, I suppose we can afford to give him one day's head start," Norrington responds. I think he's in a good mood today because he knows he'll never catch the _Black Pearl_. Maybe he's being so nice because (hopefully) Will shall be his brother by marriage. "Miss Swann?" the Commodore says, extending his arm to my sister, who takes it immediately. The two start walking away from the docks, towards the town.

Most of the crowd has dispersed by now. Only Will and I stand at the end of the docks, along with my father, though I'm hoping he will notice that he's not needed nor wanted here right now. He does.

"Well, I should chaperone Elizabeth and Commodore Norrington," he points out, choosing to ignore the fact that Will and I need more chaperoning than they do. "I trust you will find your way to the house soon, Isabella."

"Yes, Father. Thank you," I say gratefully. Finally, I think my father and I understand one another.

With a nod, my father leaves us alone. I turn to Will, wrapping his cloak more tightly around me. The wind is starting to chill me as I'm still in my wet clothes.

"Are you well, Miss Swann?" Will asks, still maintaining his distance.

"Yes, Will. I'm just a little cold," I respond.

"You'd best get home then."

I look at Will incredulously. He had just claimed to want to marry me and now he's telling me to leave?

He reads my expression correctly and adds, "It's not proper for you to be here with me alone."

"My father gave us permission. He doesn't mind," I argue. "And anyway, we – you and I together – are already improper."

"Which is why it is so important to me that I do things the right way," Will says, turning away from me for a moment. "Everyone would already think I ruined you. And it's true. By marrying me, you would fall from your place at the top of Port Royal society to the wife of a blacksmith. I don't want to give people another reason to look down on you."

I find myself speechless. Even though I don't care about any of that, I have finally gotten a complete explanation from Will. And I care about what he thinks.

"So you want to go through a courtship before our engagement?" I ask hesitantly, wishing that he would tell me otherwise.

"Yes," he answers, facing me again. He puts his hands on my shoulders. "But I know that's not what you want. So I suggest a year-long engagement."

Wait a whole year before marrying him? Could I do that? I decide that yes, I could. For Will.

"Alright then," I say with a smile. "But you still haven't really proposed."

Will lets out a laugh. "My apologies. Isabella Swann, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

It's not a very serious proposal. He's still smiling and he's not in the least bit nervous. But then, he already knows my answer and I already knew he would propose.

"I am flattered by your proposal, Mr. Turner, and I would be honored to accept," I return, also smiling and barely holding back my laughter. I throw myself into Will's arms and press my lips to his. Finally! At last Will is mine, and I can touch him and kiss him whenever I wish to! Almost…

Will pulls back. "Bella, please."

"Just for a moment, Will. Forget propriety for a _moment_ and then we'll revert to the proper etiquette between an engaged couple," I plead, my arms still around Will's neck.

This time Will is the one to kiss me. I smile into the kiss and I can feel my heart beating rapidly. Will breaks the kiss only to hold me tightly to him. I can feel his heart pounding in rhythm with my own.

"I love you, Bella. I know I've never really said it before, but I do love you."

I smile against Will's chest. "I love you, too, Will. But you knew that."

He laughs gently. "Yes, I did." He lets go of me. "You should get yourself home. The Governor will start to worry."

"Take me there?" I ask hopefully.

Will nods and gives me his arm. I take it and pull his cloak around me again. Walking through town, I don't want everyone staring at me in my underclothes. They probably will as it is, and I don't want to feel so exposed.

Even though Will thinks people will look down at me for marrying beneath my station, I feel so proud walking next to my new fiancé. And anyone who thinks differently doesn't know Will and doesn't deserve to either. But perhaps my opinion isn't fair. After all, I'm partial.

* * *

"Miss Swann, you have a visitor waiting in the parlor," Kate tells me. I eagerly stand up from my chaise. Will said he would visit today. I haven't seen him for a whole four days because he's had so much work to do. Despite this, I've been on a cloud since Will proposed to me.

I don't bother to ask Kate who my visitor is. I dash down the stairs (my leg is almost as good as new) and into the parlor. The door is already open and I eagerly go through, stopping short as soon as I catch sight of my visitor.

"Mrs. Groves?" Needless to say, I am surprised and disappointed to learn that it is not Will. Although I do not know the lady very well, her husband has proven himself my friend over the course of recent events, and I am inclined to like her. I have only heard good things about her from Elizabeth and I have always respected her a great deal more than most of Elizabeth's circle of friends. She does not seem silly or insipid.

"Disappointed, Miss Swann?" the lieutenant's wife asks with a smile that tells me she means no harm.

"No, of course not," I lie. "I was simply…expecting someone else."

"A William Turner, I think," she comments. "I haven't yet congratulated you on your engagement. I hope you will be as happily married as I am."

"Thank you, Mrs. Groves."

I am extremely confused (by both her presence and her forwardness), but I must play my part as hostess and I don't want to seem rude by asking why she is here.

"Shall I call for some tea?"

"Oh, yes, please," she replies. I ring the bell for tea and quickly take a seat near the window.

"How is your husband, Mrs. Groves?" I ask for the sake of conversation. I don't know Mrs. Groves particularly well, so I have no idea what to say to her.

"He is very well," Mrs. Groves answers. "He has adjusted quite well to being Sam's father."

"And how is Sam?" I remember the little boy crying over his mother's body and I hope that he is happy in his new home.

"He is as well as can be expected."

One of our kitchen maids brings in the tea tray and for a moment our conversation lapses. We sip our tea in silence.

"You must think me very rude and forward to come see you like this," Mrs. Groves starts. I do not interrupt, as I am curious to hear what she has to say. "Forgive me if I offend you, but I understand that your engagement with the young Mr. Turner is not well received by most of your family's circle."

I fight to keep the irritation out of my voice when I answer. After all, _she_ hasn't acted towards me as the others have. _They_ keep telling me I'm making a mistake and that Will is just a blacksmith and not worthy of the Governor's daughter. Because it's not _proper_.

"That's right," I say, lifting my chin up in pride. Let them scorn me for my choice. _I _am not ashamed.

"Oh, Miss Swann, do not misunderstand me," Mrs. Groves answers hurriedly, obviously distressed. "I mean no harm. In fact I do not believe that you are in any way making a bad decision by marrying Mr. Turner. He is a fine young man, even if he has not wealth nor consequence."

My expression softens at this. I always knew I liked her!

Still, I must ask, "Then why are you here, if not to tell me that I have been unwise in my choice of a husband?"

"To offer my friendship and support," she responds. I am initially of a mind to reject this proposal. I don't want her pity! I don't need any friends other than my sister, Will, and Jack. But when she continues to speak of the injustice of the town's high society in condemning me for following my heart, I remember that Mrs. Groves did exactly what I have now done. She married a lieutenant when she could have married someone far richer. And I realize that there is no pity in her speech, only understanding.

"Thank you, Mrs. Groves," I say when she has finished. "I would be honored to be considered your friend."

Mrs. Groves answers, "Then you must come to my tea party on Saturday. Your sister joins us every week and we would all be grateful for your addition."

"I would be glad to join you," I answer honestly.

I think Will was wrong. Not everyone will look down on me for marrying him. I won't have to give up my place in high society, not when a person like Mrs. Groves didn't have to give up hers. And Elizabeth will still be right at the top, and she will set the example as she has always done. It will just take some time.

"Miss Swann," our butler interrupts. "Mr. Turner is here to see you."

I break into a grin, not caring that Mrs. Groves is right here beside me. I know it's unseemly, but I can't help it.

"Let him come in," I say immediately.

The moment Will walks through the door, I forget. I forget that Mrs. Groves is in the room. I forget every horrible thing the girls of high society have been saying about us. I forget that there was ever a time when I was unsure of his love.

He bows in greeting, only to be met with a fierce hug from me. When I pull back, I see his embarrassed and shocked face and I remember that I had a guest. I step back a few feet. But I needn't have done so.

"Miss Swann, I will expect you on Saturday then," Mrs. Groves says, making her own way out the door. "Good day, Miss Swann. Good day, Mr. Turner."

I don't have a chance to return the pleasantries as Mrs. Groves has already disappeared through the parlor door. I turn to Will and grin. Alone at last. Just him and me. Me and him.

"Come, Will," I say, taking his hand and leading him to the settee where I had been sitting. I force him to sit right beside me, even though he tries to sit in another chair. "Please cooperate, Will. I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Bella, it has only been a few days," Will contradicts, but he's smiling, too.

"Yes, a few days that have felt as long as a month," I say, though my attention is elsewhere than the conversation. Will, I notice, has washed after his day of working in the blacksmith's shop and is dressed in a clean white shirt and brown trousers. He's wearing his customary vest over his shirt and he has combed his hair and tied it back. I shake my head to refocus on Will's words.

"…and I said I would," he finishes, a hesitant smile on his face, as if he's waiting for my confirmation. He looks nervous, only I don't know why.

"That's great!" I say enthusiastically. I hide my worry, not wanting Will to know that I was too taken by his handsome self to pay attention.

"Is it?" he asks, though he looks a bit reassured. "Because I know your father doesn't really like the idea of his daughter marrying me. He's only going along with it because he loves you so much."

"Yes, well…" I trail off.

"I know your sister will be supportive, but I still worry about your father and Commodore Norrington," Will continues. I keep a smile on my face even as my mind works quickly to piece together what he's talking about. "Although, I suppose if you're there then neither one will attack me too harshly tonight. I guess my real concern is my lack of manners."

"Manners? Will, you're the most well-mannered person I know," I argue. "You always greet everyone and –"

"That's not what I meant, Bella. I'm worried about not knowing which fork to use or how fast to eat or –"

"Will, stop." I stare at him for a moment before venturing to say, "You're concerned about _eating dinner_ with us?"

My fiancé looks embarrassed. "A little, yes."

He looks so worried about doing something wrong that I can't bear it.

"Will, if it's just Elizabeth and Father and Commodore Norrington, you have nothing to worry about. Really. Elizabeth would never rebuke you, and Father and the Commodore understand. You will learn," I say. "If it makes you feel better, then know that even I don't always act properly. In fact, Elizabeth and Father enjoy pointing out the many reasons that I do not act like a proper young lady."

"I just don't want you to be ashamed of me," Will mutters quietly.

"I would never be ashamed, Will. I _love_ you," I emphasize. "And all the treasure on the Isla de Muerta could not make me think differently."

* * *

"That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No, I suppose not," Will answers, wrapping his arms around me.

It's dark all around us. Only the moonlight makes its way into the garden where we're standing. I don't feel the chill of the evening when Will is pressed against me.

"Even Norrington likes you, Will," I say. I suddenly remember something and I laugh.

"What is it?"

"Just something Elizabeth once told me. It was that day when Jack showed up. We had just got back to the mansion, and Elizabeth told me that no one could disapprove of you."

"Many people do," he immediately says.

"No, they just don't like that I'm marrying you. But no one can dislike you, Will. It's true," I add convincingly.

"Now, that's not really a fair judgment, Bella," Will responds teasingly. His hand runs circles against my back and I melt into his warmth. "After all, you're in love with me. No one else is."

"And thank the Lord for that! I don't know what I would do. I fear I would be a jealous wife, Will," I tease back.

"Well, we both know that I would be a jealous husband if anyone came near _you_."

"There's no need for you to ever be jealous, Will. I'm yours. Wholly and completely. I have been since I was ten, I think," I say, pulling away so I can see Will's face.

"I remember the day you first said you loved me," Will says thoughtfully. "I was fourteen years old. We were in the blacksmith's shop, where I was working and you were sitting there, watching. You said it quite suddenly, I think. I didn't know how to respond. I had never really thought about it before then. I think I told you I loved you back, though I never knew why I said it. I think now I know, though."

"And what is it that you know now?" I ask, lifting my face up to his, an inch away from his own.

"That I always knew I would love you eventually, despite how desperately I tried to follow propriety," he answers. His lips descend on mine and I thank the Lord that Will has his arms around me or I would surely fall over. Will pushes forward and I back up until my knees hit a flower pot. And then I do fall over, taking Will down with me. We only just manage to stand up before Elizabeth and Commodore Norrington come around the bend, both looking a little ruffled. My sister takes one look at us and smiles her brilliant, angelic smile.

"I won't tell if you don't."

* * *

_A/N: I can't believe that this story is finally over! This has been the longest story I've written so far. 68 pages on Microsoft Word and over 30,000 words! I want to extend a huge thank you to all of my reviewers for inspiring me to continue and finish this fic. And thank you to everyone who added me or my story on their alert and favorites list. Please leave me your final comments for this last chapter! I love you all!_


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